


All I Ever Wanted

by Knightlycat



Series: Genie!verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-03-03
Packaged: 2017-12-04 04:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 79,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/706369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knightlycat/pseuds/Knightlycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine Anderson doesn't believe in magic, but when he meets the mysterious Kurt he just might have to change his mind. Blaine knows Kurt doesn't belong in his well-ordered world, but he may end up being just what Blaine and his family need most. AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The roses looked out of place as they lay on the snow-covered grave, breaking the monotone color scheme of the surroundings. The hand that placed them there hesitated and then slowly pulled away.

“I brought you your favorites one last time. They’re not in season, but I don’t think anyone will notice this one time.”

The man’s soft, musical voice carried over the newly fallen snow, tinged with barely covered sorrow. His rugged winter coat was wrapped tightly around his tall, fit body, the collar pulled up around his elegant neck. He reached up and pushed back a lock of hair with his right hand, out of force of habit more than need, then stretched the hand out one final time to rearrange the flowers, making sure that they were angled against the headstone just so.

“He’ll be here soon. I need to make sure everything is ready.” The voice now became a whisper, filled with anticipation and a touch of worry. “I know you said that he needs me more than you ever did, but what if you were wrong? What if he doesn’t want me? I’m not sure you ever really understood what that would mean…” His voice trailed off and his face took on the far away expression of someone lost in thoughts better left alone.

Snow began to fall again and the man pulled his scarf a little closer. “Maybe you should‘ve told him about me, prepared him somehow. It’s not as easy for everyone as it was for you. What if I do or say the wrong thing? What if he can’t believe?”

As the man turned to walk away, a small yellow bird landed on top of the grave marker and warbled out a soft lilting song. He stopped to stare, a smile, seldom used in the past several weeks, appearing on his face. “You too are a little out of season my friend. Are you hungry?” He turned his hand over, offering a handful of bird seed to his new companion. The bird looked at him cautiously, unsure if it should give up the safety of its location for the tasty treat. “Come on, it’s safe. I won’t hurt you.” Finally, the bird flew to the waiting hand and began to eagerly snap up the offered food. As the man watched it eat, he felt his spirits rise a little. Maybe everything would work out. Just maybe…

******

The house was just as he remembered it. It had been over a year and a half since Blaine had last made the drive up to the lake house, but it almost seemed like yesterday. He half expected Peter to be standing on the deck waiting for him, puffing on his cigar and enjoying an evening drink, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. He brought the car to a stop at the bottom of the driveway, unable or unwilling to continue on. This was it. This was probably the last time that he would see the house, the last time he would see those places filled with memories of Peter. He had lost his father a year ago and now he had lost his surrogate father, the one person most responsible for the man Blaine was today.

Blaine was one of ‘The Andersons’ of Chicago, an extremely wealthy family at the top of Chicago society. His life had been filled with mansions, limousines and hobnobbing with the rich and powerful. Always in the public eye, Blaine was expected to be poised, well-spoken, and thoughtful - a perfect ambassador for the family and the family business. Despite the Anderson’s wealth and position, or perhaps because of it, his parents had put a strong emphasis on giving back to the community as they didn’t want their son growing up isolated from the problems of the real world. He had been expected from a very young age to take part in the charities that the family funded. He spent his childhood volunteering at food banks and pet shelters and tagging along with his mother to charity fundraisers, but didn’t truly find his place until he was 14 and the Andersons founded a music camp for disadvantage kids. Kids who might never have had the chance to learn a musical instrument or discover a love of music due to their family circumstances could do so at Camp Wenatchee and Blaine knew it was where he was meant to be the second he arrived.

He spent his summers as a counselor at the camp, teaching guitar and piano to the younger kids and leading sing-offs next to the campfire. The camp had been managed by Peter Hobson, an old family friend and former A&R executive for a major music label. Peter had spent his career influencing the careers of some of the biggest names in music and when he retired he decided that the camp was the perfect place for him to influence the next generation. He became a mentor and second father to Blaine, even more so when Blaine realized he was gay at the age of 15. Afraid to tell his parents, Blaine had come out to Peter, who helped him by telling of his own experiences as a gay man. He helped Blaine come to terms with it and be proud of himself and then gave him the courage to tell his parents.

Much to his surprise, Blaine’s parents had taken his confession very well. They hugged him, told him they would always love him, and set about treating him just the same as they ever had. They also made an effort to socialize with Peter more than before and began adding trips to Peter’s lake house to their vacation itineraries. Blaine continued to volunteer at the camp all throughout college and spent a lot of time on his own with Peter at the lake, jamming on music together and writing songs. While double majoring in music and business made for a hectic college schedule, it was a glorious time for Blaine. Despite his family’s best efforts, the pressure of being an Anderson sometimes got to him. He tried to be perfect and please everyone, be everything that people expected of him, but when it became too much it was only through music that Blaine could cope. When he sat down at the piano or sang a song he was able to escape from the weight of the family name and he reveled in the freedom that he felt.

While Blaine’s parents had been accepting about him being gay, they weren’t as thrilled when he told them that he wanted to pursue music as a career. The family business had always had an Anderson in charge and he was expected to take his father, William’s, place one day. Peter teamed up with Blaine to help him change his father’s mind. They bombarded William with facts and figures about the music industry, played him some of Blaine’s original songs and even brought him to an open mic night so that he could see his son play and see the effect he had on an audience. In the end they prevailed and William agreed to begin grooming his nephew Evan to be the next CEO of Anderson World Wide.

Happy to be able to pursue his dream, Blaine moved to New York after graduating. Peter introduced him to the right people and he started paying his dues in small clubs throughout the city. He became quite a local draw and was sought after as a song writer by many established artists. Finally, he was offered a record deal of his own, earned totally through his talent and not by his family name. Peter couldn’t have been more proud if Blaine had been his own son.

Then tragedy struck. Blaine’s father and cousin had been killed in a private plane crash while returning home from a business meeting. That and a subsequent scandal had rocked the Anderson family to its core. Blaine’s mother asked him to come home and return to the family business and he couldn’t refuse her, despite his own dreams. When he told Peter he was quitting music and returning to Chicago, Peter had been furious. He had been adamant that Blaine not abandon his dreams and their argument on the subject had turned into a huge fight. They parted ways on bad terms and hadn’t spoken in a year, neither one willing to hold out the olive branch. Then, about a month ago Blaine received a letter from a lawyer informing him that Peter had died and had left the lake house to him in his will. Since Peter had requested that there be no funeral, Blaine had been left to grieve alone, regretting that he hadn’t had time to reconcile with his friend.

Now here he was, coming to the lake house to pack up some mementos and say a final goodbye. He hadn’t planned the trip ahead of time, but the Christmas holidays had left him feeling very nostalgic and he suddenly wanted to be closer to Peter in some way. He had told his mother he was leaving, packed a bag, notified work that he was taking some time off and jumped in his car. Luckily, his uncharacteristic spontaneity had come a few days after the last big snowstorm to hit the area, so his drive had been an easy, if long, one. As he put the car in gear again and started up the driveway he was pleasantly surprised to see that it had been recently plowed. There had been almost a foot and a half of snow since Peter had died, but someone was obviously still taking care of the house. Blaine brought the car to a stop in front of the two-door garage, not having the controller needed to open the doors. He locked the doors as he exited, smiling slightly to himself at his actions. You can take the boy out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the boy. Who was going to try and steal a car way out here?

Whoever had plowed the driveway had obviously been at work at the house too, as a path to the front door had been cleared, as well as one down the hill to the lake. For a second, Blaine was tempted to take that second path and go down to the water’s edge, but the lake held even more memories of Peter than the house did, if that was possible, and he didn’t think he was ready for that yet. He retrieved his luggage from the car and began the slow walk up to the house. The house seemed brighter and more kept up than the last time he had visited. Peter must have finally broken down and gotten someone to paint and take care of the place. Even the garden looked more cared for, the beauty of the landscaping recognizable even in the dead of winter.

As he reached the front porch, Blaine caught a riot of colors out of the corner of his eye. As he turned to see what had caught his attention his bags slipped from his fingers. All along the porch leading to the backyard were rose bushes. Rose bushes in full bloom. Roses in full bloom in the middle of winter. Blaine knew that those roses had been Peter’s favorites, but how on earth had he managed to get them to bloom out of season? He stood and stared for several minutes until the cold began to seep through the protection of his coat, reminding him that the sun was setting and it was time to get inside. He picked up his fallen bags and continued to the door, fumbling with the keychain to find the right key. It slid easily into the lock and the door opened. Blaine slid the keys into his pocket and stepped inside.

Blaine reached for the light switch out of habit, but quickly realized that the house was already cozily lit. A soft flickering light filtered from the living room and Blaine’s heart jumped a little in his chest. Was someone else in the house? Was there an intruder? He set down his luggage and walked silently to the living room door, stopping just outside and tentatively poking his head around the door frame. Cheery flames in the fireplace greeted him, popping and cracking and projecting their shadows onto the walls, but that was the only movement in the room. He released the captured breath he didn’t know he had been holding, but knew he couldn’t totally relax yet. He performed a quick check of the rest of the house. No one else was present, but everywhere were signs that someone had prepared the house for his visit. Fresh towels were laid out in the bathroom. The bed in the master bedroom was turned down, waiting for the occupant to slip in between in the sheets. The kitchen was well stocked and the refrigerator was full of fresh food. Who could have done this? He hadn’t told anyone he was coming this weekend.

Once he had confirmed he was alone in the house, Blaine was able to relax and he soon found himself back in the living room. The room had changed quite a bit since he was there last. The drapery and some of the furniture were new, but the most notable change was that Peter had finally taken the time to display the items he had collected during his extensive world travels. The bookshelves were full of memories, evidence of a life spent being a true citizen of the world. Blaine recognized most of the items and as he picked up each item in turn he could hear Peter’s gruff voice relating the adventure that led him to the item. He walked slowly around the room, lost in thought, until he came upon a table in the back corner, upon which stood an ancient looking samovar, a traditional metal container used to heat water in Russia and the Middle East. Peter had collected several on his travels through the years, but Blaine didn’t recognize this one. It was beautiful, with detailed workmanship in gold, silver and enamel, but that wasn’t what drew Blaine to it. The samovar almost seemed to be glowing, even though it was untouched by the light of the fire there in the corner of the room. The golden metal seemed to pulse with life and it looked like it would be warm to the touch. He gazed at the object for several minutes, tracing the lines of the decorative pattern with his fingertip. Peter must have been especially excited about this find.

As his thoughts returned to Peter once again, Blaine felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Tomorrow he would have to begin the process of deciding what items to take with him, which to have shipped to him back in Chicago and which to leave behind. Wearily, he walked into the kitchen, not hungry, but needing something to do. He looked into the fridge and was surprised to see several bottles of his favorite beer. Had those been there before? He hadn’t seen them, but they must have been. He grabbed a couple of bottles and returned to the couch in front of the fireplace. He lifted up the first bottle in a silent toast to Peter and proceeded to lose himself in memories once again. Several hours and several beers later, Blaine headed up to the master bedroom. He brushed his teeth and slipped on some pajama bottoms before sliding between the sheets of the turned down bed.

******

As Blaine’s breathing evened out, the shadows in the corner of the room began to stir. A tall, lithe figure stepped out into the moonlight streaming in from the window and moved gracefully to stand next to the bed. He studied the sleeping man, taking in the lines of exhaustion that marked his face. He was peaceful in sleep, but had looked troubled in front of the fire; Handsome, but sad. He reached a fingertip down to lightly stroke Blaine’s cheek, but was startled at the resulting tingling sensation and hurriedly pulled it back. His fate was now in this man’s hands. What would he decide to do? What would the future hold, if there even was one? He was nervous about what might happen, but there was something else there too, something he had never felt before, but could not put a name to. He stepped back from the bed, back into the shadows and soon it was like he was never there. Blaine slept on, not stirring.


	2. Chapter 2

Sun streaking in through the uncovered window woke Blaine early the next morning. After showering, brushing his unruly curls and putting on a simple pair of jeans and a thick sweater he called into town to make an appointment with Peter’s lawyer for later in the day, then headed downstairs. The fire had died overnight, but the house was still warm and he was heading into town soon, so he didn’t bother relighting it. A quick breakfast of cereal and toast and he was ready to begin tackling the project he had come to do. Blaine spent several hours going through the items in the library and living room, marking each item for later packing or donation. The task would have gone much quicker, but so many items evoked memories that had to be savored – the first photo of Blaine and Peter at the camp, the didgeridoo that Blaine had given to Peter after a spectacular trip to Australia, DVDs of every musical performance that Blaine had ever taken part in. Some of the objects resulted in reminiscent smiles, some laughter and some a few tears, but they all spoke to him in some way.

As the lunch hour approached, Blaine retrieved his wallet, keys and winter coat from the foyer, then grabbed the garage door opener from the kitchen counter. He backed his car out of the garage and pointed the vehicle in the direction of town. The lawyer’s office was housed in an old brick building in the center of town. The small but neatly decorated reception area was empty when Blaine arrived, but he was soon greeted by the administrative assistant who showed him into Mr. Grayson’s office. Charles Grayson had been Peter’s lawyer for over 20 years, managing all of his non-business affairs. He and Peter had been good friends, so his expressed sympathies to Blaine were heartfelt and the two men settled down to complete the paperwork needed to settle Peter’s estate. With the papers signed and the details taken care of, they settled back to reminisce about Peter, trading stories and humorous moments. Finally, it was time for Blaine to leave, but on his way out Charles stopped him. “I’m sorry that I didn’t know you were coming this weekend, or I would have gotten the house prepared for you,” Charles apologized, “I hope the snow and the lack of electricity weren’t too much trouble. We decided to turn off the power when Peter died to save money.”

“Well, you might not have prepared the house, but someone did. When I got here yesterday the driveway was plowed and there was a roaring fire and full fridge. The electricity works fine.” Blaine gave Charles a puzzled look.

“Strange. Well, maybe someone at the power company heard you were coming into town and turned the juice back on. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, eh?” Charles clapped him on the back and walked him to the front door. “Make sure to call if you have any questions regarding the estate or anything else. Just mark anything you want packed and shipped to you and I’ll get it taken care of next week.”

Blaine thanked Charles and headed out the door, still baffled from their discussion about the house. He stopped at the local diner for a quick lunch, too distracted by the mystery of the phantom caretaker to notice the obvious interest from the waitress who spent way too much time refilling his water glass (not that he would have returned the interest even if he had noticed it). Who could have prepared the house when no one knew when he would be there? It seemed unlikely that a neighbor would have been keeping things ready for him every day on the off chance that he would suddenly show up. After almost a half hour of turning the thoughts over in his mind he abruptly shook his head and forced himself to stop obsessing. He removed his phone from his pocket, checked a few messages, paid the bill and decided it was time to return to the house.

As soon as Blaine walked into the house he knew that someone had been there. A quick check of the kitchen proved him right when he saw that the breakfast dishes he had left in the sink had now been washed and put away and a vase on the table now held a bouquet of the off-season blooming roses. Should he call the police? Should he leave the house and return to town? He had left his car in the driveway again, so it would be a quick getaway and… wait…he had left his car in the driveway the previous day also, so how had it been in the garage in the morning? Someone had obviously moved it overnight, but how? He had put the keys in his pants pocket and they had still been there when he left the house earlier. As he retraced his morning routine in his mind he was suddenly struck by the feeling that someone was watching him. A shiver ran up his spine, but for some reason it was more a shiver of anticipation than of fear.

“Wow, it is such a beautiful day out. I think I’ll take a long walk out by the lake.” Blaine walked back towards the front door, trying to look as casual as possible. He slipped out the door and walked down the shoveled path toward the water’s edge. He stopped behind an outcropping of trees, stepping behind them and turning back to watch the house. Within minutes, smoke began to rise from the chimney and a tall, slender figure moved past one of the windows of the living room. Blaine crept back up to the house, cursing the soft crunching noise of his boots against the snow. He slowly turned the door knob and slipped inside. Once there he paused, attempting to sense the location of his mysterious intruder. A slight sound echoed from the kitchen and Blaine followed it. There, placing a pot of coffee on the kitchen table, was a man dressed in jeans and a blue button-down shirt with his back to the entryway. He looked to be a few inches taller than Blaine and had soft, neatly trimmed chestnut hair, but other than that Blaine couldn’t tell much about him.

“Hello,” Blaine called softly.

The man startled and turned towards the entryway. When he saw Blaine standing there he got a panicked look on his face and turned to move towards the back door.

“No, please stay! I didn’t mean to scare you. Please don’t run away. My name’s Blaine“

The man paused with his hand on the doorknob. He seemed to gather himself, then take a deep breath. He turned around slowly and lifted his eyes to meet Blaine’s. “Kurt.”

Blaine was unable to respond at first as he was stuck dumb by the beauty of the man in front of him. His eyes flickered over Kurt’s face, briefly noting the pale skin and delicate features before coming to a halt, captivated by his eyes which seemed to be a swirling mixture of blue, green and grey. They reminded him of Hubble Telescope photos of distant nebulas — shimmering and glowing in the depths of space — and for a minute he found himself mesmerized, unable to look away.

“My name’s Blaine,” he finally repeated.

“I know, Peter told me.” Kurt’s voice was delicate and high with a musical quality that fit his appearance perfectly and Blaine found it quite soothing.

“You knew Peter?”

“Yes, we were friends. I was with him here…at the end.”

“Are you the one who has been taking care of the house? The driveway, the fire, the food?”

“Yes, I…I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable when you arrived. I knew that coming here was not going to be easy for you. I wanted to help.”

“It was much appreciated. Thank you very much.” Blaine noticed the Kurt was making slide glances at the door, as if trying to determine if he could make it outside before Blaine caught him. “Please, will you join me for some coffee? I can’t live without my coffee and I’d love to talk to you some more.”

Kurt gave a shy nod and walked over to the wall cabinets to retrieve two coffee cups and a cookie jar full of biscotti from the counter. As the men sat down together at the table Blaine couldn’t help but get the feeling that his world had just changed.


	3. Chapter 3

They sat for a few minutes, sipping their coffee and nibbling on their biscotti. Kurt did all he could to avoid direct eye contact, nervously stirring his coffee, tapping the spoon on the edge of the cup and then stirring again. Finally released from the hold that Kurt’s eyes had over him, Blaine used the opportunity to take in his other features. He really was one of the most beautiful men that Blaine had ever seen. His flawless porcelain skin, tinted now with a slight blush, was stretched tight over an angled jaw and delicate nose, while his lips were a soft pink and glistened as if he had just wet them. His chestnut hair fell softly against his forehead in a boyish style that almost had Blaine reaching across the table to brush it from his eyes.

Blaine was still cataloging his features when Kurt finally set his spoon down, linked his fingers together on top of the table and took a deep breath.

“I hope you were happy with the food I provided. I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

“It was wonderful, thank you again. And I was very happy not to arrive to two feet of snow in the driveway, so thank you for that also.” Blaine winced at his stilted response. He felt as if he was 15 years old again, trying hard to impress a colleague of his father’s at a dinner party. He mentally shook himself and tried again. “I’m glad to hear that Peter wasn’t alone at the end. How did you know him?”

“Oh, we met about a year ago. I think it wasn’t long after you and he…well, not long after the last time you two spoke. He was travelling through Europe at the time, buying antiques in local street markets. We met and became good friends, so when he returned to the states I came with him. It was only about a month later that he found out he was sick, so that ended up being his last trip.”

“I didn’t realize he had been sick for so long. He never told me. I can’t believe I let so much time go by without contacting him. If only I had…” Kurt put his hand on Blaine’s arm to stop him.

“No, please don’t feel guilty. Peter didn’t want you to know. He knew that you were going through a tough time and didn’t want to add to your problems. It was his choice. He knew how to get in contact with you, but you know how stubborn he was.” Blaine could feel a warm heat radiating from the hand on his arm. The touch calmed him and slightly lifted his sorrow at not seeing his friend again before the end.

“Besides,” Kurt continued, “He knew you would be coming here to close up the house, so that there would be time then.”

“Time for what?”

“Oh. Well, I’m not sure. He wasn’t making a lot of sense at the end. It probably didn’t mean anything.” Kurt’s eyes slid away from Blaine’s, returning back to the table top and he slowly retracted his hand, pulling it in to grasp the other again.

Blaine instantly regretted the loss of the physical contact and wondered what Kurt would do if he reached over to grasp his intertwined hands. “So you were here for almost a year? Didn’t your family or friends mind that you were gone for so long?”

“No family, no friends,” Kurt murmured sadly, “Just Peter. We were very happy though. We didn’t need anyone else.”

“And you lived here with him?” Blaine was starting to wonder at the nature of Kurt’s relationship with Peter. He had never felt more drawn to another man in his life, but he began to pull himself back at Kurt’s declaration. Peter had always been drawn to younger men, many of whom had only used him for his money and connections. Was Kurt one of those men? He was so beautiful it seemed unlikely that Peter would have wanted their relationship to remain platonic, even if he had been sick.

“Yes, I cooked and helped keep up the house, but mostly I was just company. I think Peter was lonely, even though his isolation was of his own making. He just started drawing back from people. I was the only one he could tolerate for more than a few minutes.”

Guilt again pressed in on Blaine. He couldn’t help but wonder how things might have been different if he had been able to get past his pride and contact Peter. There was no point in going down that road, though. What was done was done and dealing with Kurt was all that was left for him to do.

 “It is about dinner time. Would you mind joining me?” Blaine asked.

“I’d love to, but only if you will allow me to cook. I have the perfect dish I’ve been wanting to try.”

“Alright, but I will do the dishes. It’s only fair. Plus, I’m not that great of a cook, so unless we want to dine on grilled cheese sandwiches it is probably best that I defer to you in this area.”

Kurt smiled and disappeared into the kitchen telling Blaine that it wouldn’t be long until dinner was served. Blaine made his way into the living room and turned on the sound system. He spent a few minutes studying Peter’s record collection, trying to select the perfect music for the occasion. Finally he pulled an old Frank Sinatra record off of the shelf and placed it on the turntable. “Ah, Sinatra. Peter, you always had great taste.”

“Did you say something?” Kurt pushed his way into the dining room from the kitchen, his hands occupied with a large serving platter.

“No, I was just talking to myself. Well, to Peter actually.” Blaine followed Kurt back into the kitchen to help him bring the rest of the dishes out. “Wow! Dinner is ready this fast? You are amazing.”

Kurt paled a little and set the final dishes on the table. “A lot of it was already prepared. I just had to put it all together.”

As they sat down to eat, Blaine’s eyes were drawn again to the gleaming samovar in the living room. “That is a beautiful piece,” he commented, angling his head towards the object. “Do you know where Peter got it?”

“I believe he purchased it on his last trip to Europe. He never really said why he bought it. I guess it just called to him.” Kurt looked uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation and busied himself by re-arranging the flower in the vase at the middle of the table.

They ate in silence for a few more minutes before Blaine could no longer contain his curiosity. “I just have one question. How did you know when I was coming?”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t tell anyone I was coming down this weekend. How did you know to get the house ready for me? The fire was ready, the fridge was stocked. And the electricity.”

“Electricity?”

“Peter’s lawyer told me that the power to the house had been turned off. How did you know to get it turned back on?”

“I…I didn’t. I’m not sure what… He must have been mistaken.”

Blaine decided to drop the subject, since it seemed to make Kurt more uncomfortable by the second, but he still wondered, especially about the car moving into the garage without the keys. How did Kurt pull that one off? “I noticed that the garden has been completely re-worked since the last time I was here. It looks great. Did Peter hire a landscaper?”

“No, no landscaper. When I arrived I made a comment about how overgrown the garden was and Peter gave me free reign to make changes. I am glad you like it.” A delicate blush settled over Kurt’s features, making the paleness of his skin even more evident. “I also took it upon myself to get the house painted and some other cosmetic changes. I hope that you don’t mind.”

“Absolutely not! I know Peter wasn’t the best about that kind of stuff, so I’m glad you were around to help out.”

The men finished up their meal and disposed of the dishes in the kitchen before heading back to sit by the fire in the living room. Blaine entertained Kurt by telling amusing stories about Peter and Camp Wenatchee. The evening grew late and he noticed that Kurt’s eyes were beginning to droop a little.

“Kurt, where did you sleep last night? If you lived here with Peter did you move somewhere else after he died?”

Kurt shifted his eyes away, looking deep into the flickering flames. “Don’t worry about me. I have a place to stay,” he replied evasively.

“It sounds like this was as much your home as it was Peter’s, so please, stay here tonight.” When it looked like Kurt would object Blaine continued, “Please. I don’t think I could sleep knowing that I displaced you from your home.”

Kurt reluctantly agreed and Blaine watched as he started up the stairs to retire to the guest bedroom. Blaine reviewed the events of the day and acknowledged to himself that despite being captivated by Kurt he didn’t feel comfortable in embracing his feelings. There were too many questions about Kurt and his relationship with Peter. Wearily he pushed himself up from the couch and made his way to his own room, determined to get more answers in the morning.

******

Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed in the guest bedroom and gazed at the closed door. The day had gone much better than he had expected. He had looked through pictures of Blaine in Peter’s photo albums and had seen him sleeping the night before, but nothing could have prepared him for Blaine awake and flashing that heart-stopping grin. He practically vibrated with an energy and vitality that couldn’t be described. Slim, but muscular, Blaine stood a few inches shorter than Kurt — which Kurt realized he kind of liked — and had thick dark curls that Kurt wanted to reach out and touch. He even smelled great. A clean, woodsy scent that was due in part to his expensive cologne and partially just Blaine himself. In all of his years, Kurt couldn’t think of another person that he had met who had affected him so quickly and completely. He hadn’t wanted the evening to end, even though he hadn’t really been keeping up his end of the conversation. He had been too distracted by the gorgeous honey color of Blaine’s eyes and his long, thick lashes that seemed almost too heavy for his eyelids to lift. Kurt found it easiest just to listen to Blaine and chuckle at the stories of his adventures with Peter. Now that he was alone, however, he was worried that there would be more questions tomorrow. Blaine did not seem as blindly accepting as Peter had been. He would not just let things go. Despite this knowledge, Kurt felt hope though. He could feel the pain that Blaine buried deep down inside, which echoed his own. It was calling to Kurt, coursing through his veins and making his skin tingle. He just didn’t need to make this work, he _wanted_ to make it work.

******

Blaine had once again neglected to close the curtains on his window, so the sun woke him up early again. Unable to get back to sleep, he took a leisurely shower and pulled on a pair of soft over-washed jeans and a red and white fisherman’s sweater. He was almost to the head of the stairs when he decided to go back and make a quick check on Kurt to make sure everything was alright. He walked softly up to the guest room door and slowly cracked it open. His eyes found the bed right away, but Kurt was not there and the bed was neatly made, with no sign that anyone had slept in it the night before. Blaine’s heartbeat picked up a notch, fearful that Kurt had left without telling him. What if he had been scared off by all the questions the day before? What if he was gone and Blaine never saw him again?

A quick trip down the stairs confirmed that Kurt was not sleeping on the couch and didn’t seem to anywhere in the house. He was just about to open the front door and check outside when the samovar in the living room caught his eye. It seemed to be glowing even more than before and a tickle developed deep in Blaine’s chest that was drawing him nearer to it. As he approached, the air above the samovar began to shimmer, like a mirage in a desert. Blaine watched in wonder as the shimmer expanded and the air seemed to thicken, then swirl and lengthen, until finally a form began to emerge; the form of a man. He had his back to Blaine and was slowly pulling a silky robe up over his bare shoulders. He wrapped the tie around his middle and made a bow before reaching his arms up over his head for a deep stretch that ended in him wiggling his toes. Toes that were hovering at least a foot above the floor.

Blaine gaped at the figure, unable to believe his eyes. Was he still asleep and dreaming in his bed? Had food poisoning caused him to hallucinate? Was he going insane? Maybe all of the gel he used in his hair back home had finally begun to affect his brain.

Kurt drifted slowly down to the ground and finally turned towards the kitchen. His movements came to an abrupt stop when he saw Blaine standing there, the shock evident on this face. They both froze in place, neither knowing what to do or say until finally Blaine asked “Who are you? _What_ are you?”

“I’m Peter’s friend.”

“Yes, but that isn’t the full story. Please, just tell me.”

Kurt looked at him with a pleading expression, as if willing Blaine to take back the question. He closed his eyes and dipped his chin down towards his chest, which expanded with a very deep breath. He opened his eyes and met Blaine’s gaze.

“I’m a genie.”


	4. Chapter 4

Blaine couldn’t contain a burst of surprised laughter at Kurt’s pronouncement. “You’re a… I’m sorry, I must have misheard you. What did you just say? ”

“I’m a genie.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth.” Kurt seemed to stand taller now that he had gotten his confession out of the way, as if a giant weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He walked around the edge of the couch and sat on the end nearest the fire, which was somehow still burning bright even after a long unattended night.

Blaine warily crossed the room and sat down in the arm chair on the other side of the coffee table, unsure of how to proceed. Should he call the police? A doctor? It was obvious that Kurt was unwell and needed some kind of care. Maybe he was even an escapee from a mental hospital. He searched his mind for any recent news stories about a manhunt going on in the area. Yes, Kurt had to be delusional; There was no other option. Except…there was the electricity that somehow flowed despite having been shut off by the power company. There was the car that had somehow been moved into the garage without keys. The list went on and on, ending with, of course, the fact that Kurt had just appeared out of thin air and hovered above the ground like a hummingbird.

“That’s impossible. Hey, I love _Aladdin_ just as much as — no strike that, probably much more than— the next guy, but come on. This isn’t ancient Arabia or even Coco Beach of Pete’s sake. Genies don’t exist.”

“And yet here I am.”

“Prove it. Prove that you are genie.”

Kurt stared at Blaine for a moment, tipping his head to the side and licking his lips. “Would you like to wish for something in particular?”

“Surprise me.”

He gazed deep into Blaine’s eyes and must have seen what he was hoping to see, for he raised his arm up in front of him, stopping when his hand had reached chest level. He didn’t say anything, twitch his nose, or blink his eyes with a nod of his head, but Blaine knew the second that the demonstration began. The swirl of colors in Kurt’s eyes seemed to take on added life and change shape and the air above his upraised palm began to shimmer as the air over the samovar had earlier. The disturbance continued for just a second before dissipating and leaving behind a black silk bowtie covered in a pattern of tiny crescent moons and stars. Kurt waited patiently as Blaine just stared at the tie and tried to wrap his mind around what he had just seen.

“You just seem like a bowtie kind of guy to me. Would you also like the matching scarf?” Kurt smiled slightly, a mischievous light appearing in his eyes.

Another rush of laughter escaped Blaine’s lips. “I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. I am still asleep up in my bed and this is just the of result of me thinking of you before I went to sleep last night. I cannot be sitting here talking to a genie wearing a blue silk bathrobe.”

Kurt gasped as he looked down at himself and noted that he was still dressed in only his robe. The colors in his eyes tangled again and a haze appeared to cover his body before the robe disappeared, replaced by another loose pair of jeans and simple green button-down shirt. Blaine just groaned and dropped his head into his hands, still resisting what his eyes were telling him.

“Why don’t you just relax for a bit while I get breakfast ready,” Kurt suggested. “It’ll give you some time to absorb and think. I know this is a lot.” Taking Blaine’s grunt as an agreement, Kurt disappeared into the kitchen.

It was over half an hour before Kurt announced that the table was set and the meal ready. Blaine knew it couldn’t have taken him that long to prepare it, so he was grateful that Kurt had given him the extra time alone with his thoughts. They sat down at the table and ate quietly for several minutes before Blaine felt the need to break the silence. “Did Peter know? That you are a…” he questioned haltingly, unable to even bring himself to utter the word.

“Yes, he knew. He found my samovar in a market in Turkey and purchased it. He was, of course, very surprised when he got back to his hotel and discovered that I came along with it. He didn’t have any problem believing, though. He was a man who easily accepted magic and the impossible.”

“It looked like you were…emerging from the samovar. Is that where you sleep?”

“Yes, it’s my home. It’s hard to explain. Genies are tied to a physical object. It protects us, but also controls us. We exist differently than humans do. We draw our strength from the human who owns our samovar and believes in us. They connect us to this world and in turn we offer them our service.”

“So the three wishes thing is real?”

“Three wishes is the obligation, but the connection can remain after the three wishes have been granted. It can remain as long as both parties still want it to. When the connection is ended a genie returns to the samovar and waits for the next to come along.”

“So if your connection with Peter ended, how were you still out in the real world, waiting for me to arrive?”

“It was Peter’s final wish that I go with you.”

Blaine felt as if a bomb had gone off nearby. His head was reeling and there was a ringing in his ears that made Kurt’s voice seem miles away. Kurt just sat, looking at Blaine with a hopeful expression, waiting for a response to his announcement. Blaine wanted to give him the reassurance he was so obviously looking for, but the words stuck in his throat. Finally, after several minutes he stood up and told Kurt he needed some time to himself. He put on his coat, left the house, and walked down to the water’s edge. He still wasn’t totally convinced that this wasn’t an elaborate hallucination, but if this was all real, what was he going to do with a genie? How was he supposed to explain it to his family when he returned home with a strange man in tow? Or would he have to hide Kurt from his family and friends, keeping him isolated as Peter had done? Why _had_ Peter chosen to keep Kurt hidden? Was he prone to using his power indiscriminately? Did he confess his genie-ness to everyone that he met? If so, how would Blaine keep him from being locked up? He couldn’t believe that Peter had done this to him. Why hadn’t he said something to prepare Blaine in some way? It was unfair to expect this of him.

Decision made, Blaine returned to the house. He found Kurt sitting in the living room, gazing pensively out the window. When he entered the room Kurt quickly turned to look at him, his face paler than usual and his expression a mixture of hope and resignation. Blaine took a seat on the chair beside him, deciding that there was no time like the present to get their conversation out of the way.

“Kurt, what if my wish was that you go away? That you go and find a different human to connect to? Would you do that for me?”

The color that was left in Kurt’s face bled away and his body seemed to cave in on itself as his features took on a blank look. “Yes, I would do that for you.”

“Great. Kurt, I think you’re wonderful, but I just can’t deal with this right now. I’m sure there is someone out there who is just waiting for their very own genie, someone who can believe in your whole heartedly and you should go and find them.” Blaine noticed that a slight sheen had developed over Kurt’s eyes, as if he was trying hard to keep tears at bay. He hesitated for a minute before asking “Where would you go? If that was my wish?”

“Nowhere.”

“What do you mean ‘nowhere’?”

“A genie that’s not connected to a human doesn’t really live. We exist in a kind of endless limbo until the next connection comes along. Unfortunately, it’s not enough for someone to simply own the samovar. They must be able to believe in the magic that it holds. Without that belief we’re not released from our prison. As the years pass it is getting harder and harder to find someone who can believe. Soon, I fear that there will be no one left who can connect with us and we will all just fade away.”

“But Kurt, I don’t believe.”

“Yes, you do. You just don’t realize it yet.”

Blaine had felt a wrenching in his chest when Kurt spoke about the nothingness he would face without a connection. He was unwilling to examine the feeling too closely, afraid of what it might mean, but he knew the decision was made. Kurt would be coming home with him the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

Monday morning arrived with more bright sunshine and Kurt took that as a hopeful sign for the journey they were about to undertake. He joined Blaine downstairs for breakfast and then magically disposed of the dishes and the perishable food left in the fridge. Then men then gathered up Blaine’s bags and Kurt’s samovar and carried them out to the car. As the cold air hit them, it quickly brought to Kurt’s attention to the fact that he was only wearing a thin oxford shirt and jeans. He glanced down and the air around his body took on a sharp gleam before solidifying into a navy blue pea coat.

Blaine paused for a moment before continuing on his way. “You know, you will have to stop doing that when we get to Chicago. There’s no way I will be able to explain it to my family if you start making things appear out of thin air.”

Kurt gave him a slightly chastened grin and nodded his agreement before sliding the samovar into the trunk of the car. “I’ll try and do better. It’s been a long time since I was around anyone but Peter or another connection and I’m out of practice.”

They got inside the car and Blaine turned on the heater and the heated seats. After letting the engine warm up for a few minutes he inched the car out of the garage and turned down the driveway, the snow crunching beneath the tires.

“I’ll call Charles later and have him finish everything up,” Blaine murmured as the house slipped out of sight, “I’ve finished labeling the things I want packed and shipped to me. He can handle the donations to charity and the sale of the house.”

“You don’t want to keep the house yourself?” Kurt wondered. “It seems like you had many happy memories there. Maybe you could keep it and use it as a vacation home?”

“I just don’t think I’d be able to get out here more than once a year. This house was meant to be lived in, not to stand empty. I can see a family being really happy here. I think Peter would like that.”

They rode in an uneasy silence for a few minutes, neither one knowing what to say. Kurt watched as the scenery flew by. He had seldom left the house while he was with Peter, so most of the countryside was new to him. He marveled at the modern designs of many of the buildings — so different from the houses he was used to in the past.

Finally, Blaine broke the silence with a question that had been nagging at him since the day before. “Why didn’t you just heal Peter? If he had three wishes, why didn’t he wish to be well again?”

“Genies aren’t all powerful,” Kurt replied sadly. “There are limitations to what we can do. I cannot alter the way someone thinks or feels or make them do something they don’t want to do. And I can’t cure disease or heal injuries.”

“That is actually kind of comforting to know, actually.”

“How so?” Kurt asked.

“It isn’t like I really spend a lot of time thinking about fate or anything, but I have always kind of believed that we each have a path and when it is our time, it is our time. I don’t think I’d like it if I thought there were people out there who were living only because they happened to come across a magical genie. Also, I can’t even begin to imagine the damage that could have been done throughout the centuries if genies could control thoughts and actions. I’m sure not everyone who makes a connection with a genie has pure and altruistic motives.”

“No, that’s very true. I can’t tell you how many times my human connection has wished that I make someone fall in love with them. It’s human nature to try and take the easy route, I guess. I _can_ give people skills or knowledge that they don’t already possess, so I guess I’m not totally blameless in letting people cut a few corners.”

“Skills they don’t already possess? I knew it! I’m in the Matrix, aren’t I?”

“The Matrix?”

“Never mind.” The giant grin on Blaine’s face was one of the most beautiful things Kurt had ever seen, even if he didn’t understand the reason behind it. After a few miles, Blaine turned to Kurt again. “The drive will take us about 10 hours, so we will probably stay the night part way there so that we can arrive late tomorrow morning. Do you think you will want to drive for part of the way?”

“The last time I drove was in the early 1950s, so I don’t think it would be a great idea for me to get behind the wheel. I’d feel obligated to add a ‘Beware of driver’ sign to the back of the car and I just don’t think it would go with your paint job.”

“No, it is probably best that I drive then,” Blaine chuckled at the thought of a giant red blinking sign on the back of his luxury car. “So why haven’t you driven since the early ‘50s?”

“That was the time of my last connection before Peter. I spent 10 years with a wonderful man who was a mechanic and owned a garage. He taught me how to work on the cars and I often helped out in the shop.”

“Your last connection was more than 60 years ago? Where have you been since then?”

“I told you that genies don’t really exist without a human connection. Ever since then I was just…waiting.”

“That seems like a really long time to be in limbo.”

“It was difficult. Being without a connection can damage us. The longer the time, the harder it is to recover, to become part of the world again. I know many genies that have gone much longer and some were never the same again.”

“So why did your connection with the car guy end? Did you mutually part ways or…”

“I’d rather not discuss it, if you don’t mind.” Kurt turned his head to look out the passenger window and crossed his arms protectively across his body.

“Of course. Why don’t we listen to some music for a while?”

“Oh yes, please! Peter and I always listened to music at home and I’ve really missed it. Peter told me that you’re a musician. I believe he said you had all the makings of a rock star. What kind of music do you like?”

“I like all kinds of music, really. I played a kind of rock/pop mix when I was performing, but I like to listen to all types. Here,” Blaine hit a button on the steering wheel to activate the sound system in the car, “This is a playlist of my current favorites. Most of this is probably very different than what Peter listened to. Let me know if you hear anything you especially like.”

The playlist was ordered chronologically, so it started out with The Beatles, before continue on through Roxy Music, Bryan Adams, and George Michael before ending up with current artists like Katy Perry and Maroon 5. Kurt listened silently for most of the time, tapping his foot along to some of the songs, tilting his head is puzzlement to others. He recognized a few of the songs from hearing Peter play them and to those he hummed or sang along softly. Blaine could feel tension melting away from his shoulders at the sound of Kurt’s voice. It was angelic sounding, with a range that was amazing. Blaine promised himself that he would take Kurt to karaoke once they were back in Chicago. Together they would wow the crowd and clean-up in some of the contests at the local bars.

After the last song on the playlist finished, Kurt leaned his head against the headrest and turned to Blaine. “Most of those were really good, but if some of those last songs are personal favorites I might have to revoke your potential rock star status. Are you sure those people were really even singing? They sounded so false, like the robot voices in science fiction movies I used to see back in the ‘50s. I just don’t see how they can compare with Elvis or Rosemary Clooney.”

“Current popular music is much more produced and processed than back in the 1950s. It’s often more about the image now than the voice, but that doesn’t mean the songs aren’t enjoyable. To enjoy Top 40 music you just need to let go of your musical snobbery and have fun.”

“Yes, well I think you can keep your Top 40 and I’ll stick with the more ‘real’ stuff for now.” Blaine glanced over and saw Kurt’s eyebrow lift slightly, obviously judging Blaine for his horrible taste in music.

As they cycled through a few more playlists and talked more about music, it became obvious to Blaine that Kurt had little knowledge about current events or pop culture, despite having been back in the world for over a year. Peter had never been one to keep up on celebrity happenings, even when he was in the music business and it sounded like he had spent his last year watching classic movies and listening to his favorite songs of the past. If Kurt was going to survive in the modern world he would have to get up-to-speed quickly. Nothing would make him stand out in a crowd more than not having a clue about who Lady Gaga was or thinking Old Navy referred to the Armed Forces.

A few minutes later Blaine pulled over to fill of the car up with gas. While the pump was clicking away he noticed that the gas station mini-mart had an unusually large rack of magazines lined up against the wall. He told Kurt he would be right back and ducked into the shop. He grabbed several magazines that covered the subjects of news, gossip, fashion and counter-culture and paid for them along with some drinks and snacks for the road. He returned to the car, put the gas nozzle back on the pump and slid back into the driver’s seat.

“Here, I got you some magazines to help catch you up on our confusing modern times. I have an iPad in my luggage, but since I assume you don’t know how to operate a computer or a tablet we had better start the old fashioned way.”

Kurt sorted through the pile of magazines before coming to an abrupt halt. “Vogue! Oh my God, oh my God,” he held the magazine to his chest like a baby and cradled it, “Oh Vogue, how I have missed you!” He proceeded to bury himself in the magazine, reading it cover-to-cover before moving on to devour the next one in the pile. When he had finished a fourth magazine he set it aside with a satisfied sigh. “I think I have missed fashion most of all. There is so much variety now, I just can’t believe it. Of course, not all of it is good. How is real fur still a thing in this day and age? Don’t people know where that fur comes from? Why…”

Blaine listened to Kurt as he continued to comment on the current state of fashion — the good, the bad, and the ‘Oh my God’. Finally he wound down on the subject and Blaine took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. “You seem pretty passionate about fashion for a guy wearing dad jeans and a plain button-down shirt.”

Kurt looked down at himself with a slight grimace and look of disdain. “Peter tended to wear these types of clothes, so I dressed like this to make him more comfortable.”

“Kurt… if I say something will you promise not to be offended?”

“Of course! You can always be honest with me, Blaine.”

“So, I’ve noticed that since we have been talking today that you have seemed…different than before. Today you have been —and please don’t take this the wrong way, because it isn’t meant to be bad — snarky and sarcastic and opinionated. Even your speech patterns seem different. You were so formal before, but today you are so much looser. Is it just that you are becoming more comfortable with me?”

Kurt paused before replying, gathering his thoughts. "Making a successful connection is dependent on being what the human expects a genie to be." He grimaced as he looked out the window. "I sometimes have problems meeting those expectations. I try to blend in and to remain in the background, but something inside me just seems to cry out for attention and I can't control it. I guess what you are now seeing is the real me. I'm sorry."

"No! Don’t be sorry. I want you to feel comfortable and to be yourself. Please don't feel as if you need to change to please me or be accepted. In fact…,” Blaine drew a deep breath, absolutely sure of his course of action, “I wish you would be yourself around me."

"You wish...? Did you mean..."

"Yes, for my first wish I would like you to act like yourself, dress like yourself, talk like yourself..."

There was a long stunned pause from the passenger seat. "Well, I did see some things I liked in one of those magazines." The air around Kurt glistened and suddenly he was clothed in tight black pants covered with straps and silver d-rings and a black and silver asymmetrical sweater that fell slightly off of one shoulder, topped off with a new spiky hair style that flattered his face. "Your wish is granted."

"Thank you. Much better," Blaine smiled, happy with the outcome of his first wish. They passed a few minutes in silence, with Blaine making a few quick side-eye glances at his companion. Finally, he could contain himself no longer. "Kurt... are those bondage pants?”

"Eyes on the road, Dapper Dan."

******

Several hours, countless songs and 5 magazines later Blaine turned off the highway and pulled into a hotel parking lot. “It’s about dinner time, so why don’t we stop here for the night, then start again in the morning. We only have about 3 hours left to drive, so that will get us home about lunch time.”

Kurt agreed to the proposal, so they checked into the hotel, taking two rooms on the tenth floor. They decided to meet in an hour for dinner and while Blaine took a shower and changed his clothes, Kurt spent his time flipping through channels on the TV. He couldn’t believe what a great day it had been. He had loved the time he spent with Peter, but their lives had been pretty isolated. Peter had never been an especially social man, but his illness had made him even less likely to seek out company. Add to that the protectiveness he felt towards Kurt and he had practically become a hermit. He had also become extremely nostalgic, so the music, television and movies they watched were all older ones that reminded him of his youth. Kurt had had little opportunity to learn about the new world he had stepped into. So much had changed since the 1950s that he felt like he was on an alien planet with advanced technology and strange looking creatures.

Today Blaine had introduced him to that world and he would be forever grateful. The music might take a little while to get used to, but for some reason he had embraced the fashion whole-heartedly. His mind raced with all the colors, fabrics and styles that filled the magazines and he couldn’t help but close his eyes and start re-arranging the items he had seen into new and different combinations.

Of course, the day hadn’t been exciting only because of the music and fashion. There had also been Blaine himself. Kurt couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this type of connection with a human. Had he ever felt this way? He could still see a glimmer of doubt in Blaine’s eyes—not much about Kurt being a genie, but more about how he was going to make the situation work— but despite that the ease with which they talked made it seem like they had known each other for much longer than three days. Kurt grasped his hands together and brought them up to his mouth, leaning his lips against his knuckles as he thought about how Blaine had used his first wish to free Kurt to be himself. He couldn’t remember anyone caring about him like that so quickly. There had been other connections who had one what they could to make Kurt comfortable, of course, but it usually took some time to get to that point as they slowly got to know him and got used to the idea of a genie. His feelings were not usually the first thing on their minds.

Kurt noticed that the hour was almost up, so he quickly fabricated a change of clothing for himself. His motorcycle style jacket was color blocked, with the sleeves and sides of the body in gray flannel and the main body in black. The off-center and slightly diagonal zipper was zipped half way up over a black button-down shirt with a white placket and collar and black buttons. He finished off the outfit with tight black jeans and soft leather boots. The jacket was nice enough to fit in wherever they were going to dinner, while still being edgy and fashionable. He smiled at himself in the mirror and gave his hair a final nudge before heading out the door.

He met Blaine in the hallway and admired his white jeans and gray round-neck sweater with black stripes at the neck, cuffs and hem. He could see Blaine’s personality showing in the pink shirt and black tie that he wore beneath the sweater — both playful and formal at the same time. He caught himself admiring the fit of Blaine’s jeans a little too closely and snapped his eyes back up to meet Blaine’s. Thankfully, he seemed oblivious to his ogling and simply nodded in the direction of the elevator before starting off down the hallway.

******

They rode the elevator down to the lobby level and checked out the dining options in the hotel. The hotel’s restaurant was Japanese, which neither man was in the mood for, so they walked across the street to an Italian restaurant and were quickly seated. While they ate Kurt told Blaine more about how he and Peter had met. Blaine watched as he described Peter’s reaction the first time Kurt had appeared to him. Kurt’s face was so expressive and every emotion played out there for everyone to see. When Kurt described his excitement in finally re-joining the world after the long period without a connection, Blaine felt his elation, mixed with a little sadness for the time lost. As he told funny stories about the differences between the 1950s and now, Blaine felt his amazement and when he spoke about Peter’s illness and the final months Blaine grieved along with him. He couldn’t help but wonder if the reason he was so drawn to Kurt was because of the magic. He had never experienced anything like it before in his life. Kurt had said that some people were drawn to the samovar. Maybe that draw extended to the genie within it and nothing that he was feeling was real.

Besides, Blaine didn’t even know if Kurt was gay. Maybe genies don’t even have a sexual orientation. Were they sexual at all? Did they even choose to interact with people like that? If Kurt was human, Blaine would say it was obvious which team Kurt played on, but maybe all genies were slightly flamboyant and it meant nothing at all. After arguing with himself back-and-forth on the subject for several minutes he decided to broach the subject. “Kurt, have you ever been in love?”

"No, not really. A few crushes maybe, but never anything real. Genies have to be very careful about falling in love. When we love it is forever and it tends to consume us. We lose many of our powers. And if anything should happen to that love, well, let’s just say it doesn’t end well.”

“What do you mean ‘doesn’t end well’?”

“We die. We just kind of fade away. It is very sad actually. I have seen it happen a few times and it definitely makes me think twice about ever allowing myself to get to that place.”

The solemn moment passed when the waitress arrived with their bill. As Blaine reached forward to drop his credit card on the tray, his hand brushed Kurt’s and it took all of his strength not to linger. There was something both innocent and sensual about holding hands and the softness of Kurt’s skin would only make the experience more thrilling. Better not to even start down that road. The men left the restaurant and walked in companionable silence across the street back to their hotel. As they got off of the elevator on the tenth floor, Blaine couldn’t help but ask one last question. “But if you were going to. Fall in love, I mean. Who do you...which...do you have a type?"

"Hm...I was always partial to Gene Kelly, but today I saw this picture of a guy named Taylor Lautner…” Kurt trailed off with a contented humming sound. He opened his room door with his card key and turned with a smile to say goodnight. As the door closed, Blaine’s face broke into a wide smile and he glided happily down the hallway to his own room.

******

At breakfast the next morning Kurt appeared wearing skintight black jeans and a simple black cardigan buttoned up over a white t-shirt. Blaine was about to comment on the ensemble’s conservative nature compared to the previous day’s look when Kurt turned around to show that the back of the sweater was knitted in a loose, open pattern that left inch-wide spaces through which Blaine could see that the white shirt had been slashed to ribbons. The peek-abo sight of so much pale skin, even slightly obscured by the knitwear, left him frozen in his tracks.

Kurt’s smirked when he saw Blaine’s stunned expression. “I have over 60 years of fashion to catch up on. Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

The two men quickly their meals, though Blaine would have been hard pressed to recount exactly what it was that he ate as he was so preoccupied by thoughts of Kurt’s hide-and-seek clothing. They returned to their rooms to prepare for check-out then met again in the hallway. Unlike the previous day, Kurt now toted a large suitcase and a smaller carry-on size bag.

“It would look off if I arrived with no luggage, wouldn’t it?” he volunteered at Blaine’s questioning look. Blaine was impressed at Kurt’s proactive thinking, but then remembered that he had probably experienced many situations over the years where he would have had to fool people into believing he was something other than what he was. They made quick work of checking out and getting back on the road, anxious to get to the Anderson home now that they were so close to their destination.

When the signs for Chicago indicated that they had only 10 miles left to go, Blaine realized he hadn’t yet told Kurt what to expect once they arrived.

“Did Peter tell you much about my family?” Kurt shook his head at the question, so Blaine prepared to give him the slightly abridged version of the Anderson family history. “My great-great-great-grandfather, Henry Anderson, founded Anderson Steel back in 1865 after the Civil War. He became enormously wealthy — no income tax back then, you know — and married the oldest daughter of the spectacularly wealthy Van Allen family of New York and the Anderson family dynasty was born. The family was pretty good at producing sons, so an Anderson has run the company ever since, though now it’s called Anderson World Wide.

My father became CEO when I was 10 years old and it was always assumed I’d follow in his footsteps, but once I discovered music I knew that wasn’t where I wanted to be. It’s funny, it was harder to tell my father that I didn’t want to join the family business than it was to tell him that I was gay. It was harder on him too. We had a rough patch while Peter and I worked on convincing him that I wasn’t throwing my life away to become an itinerant musician. He accepted it eventually though and luckily his brother’s son Evan was more than happy to step into role of heir-apparent. I moved to New York and really threw myself into the music scene — open mic nights, coffee house gigs, private parties. You name it, and I performed at it. It took a while, but I started to get noticed. I had just signed a record deal last year when Evan and my father were killed.”

He paused for a minute, needing a moment to gather his thoughts. “Mom was devastated, of course, but she was soldiering on. Then the funeral happened. In the middle of the ceremony dad’s secretary burst in and threw herself on the casket, sobbing. Turns out my father was having an affair with her. You wouldn’t believe it if you had seen it, Kurt. It played out like a soap opera. The other woman crying hysterically and screaming about their ‘eternal love’ and my mother frozen in her seat, too shocked to even get up and leave while her so-called friends were already spreading the gossip and enjoying every minute of it.“

Blaine was driving with one arm sitting on the arm rest, so Kurt reached over and covered that hand with one of his, giving it a squeeze of support. Blaine sent him a grateful look before continuing. “Mom hasn’t really been the same since that day. I guess ‘brittle’ would be a good word to describe her. She begged me to come home and take dad’s place at the company. I guess recent generations haven’t been very prolific, so I am the only Anderson left now and over 140 years of tradition are depending on me. So, I got out of my record deal, took a job at the company and moved back to Chicago. I’m too inexperienced to take over now, but I need to start working on the current board of directors to gather their support. They will need to vote me in, when the time comes.”

They were now very near their destination and so Blaine got into the details Kurt would need to know. “Mom should be home when we get there. She’s on the board of several charities and stays very busy, but Tuesday’s are her day off. Rachel will probably also be there. Rachel is my cousin and has lived with us for about 13 years now, since she was 5 and I was 14. Her mother is my mom’s sister and when my aunt and uncle divorced they discovered that neither one of them really had any interest in being a parent. My mom stepped in immediately and demanded that they send Rachel to live with us. She is the pain-in-the-ass sister I always deserved. Very bright, very talented and…challenging. Yes, I like that word. Rachel is challenging. I have no idea how she will react to you. I can imagine everything from becoming your new best friend to discreetly looking into a hit man who can take of our new little ‘family problem’.” Blaine gave Kurt a big wink at the last sentence to show he was kidding…he hoped.

Blaine turned the car up a long driveway, stopping only when he reached a large solid metal and wood gate. As he reached into the glove compartment for the electronic gate opener a thought suddenly stuck him. “Kurt, do you have a last name? It will make it very difficult to introduce you to my mother without one. It will be the first thing she asks about – she will want to try and figure out if she knows your ‘people’.”

“No, I don’t have one, but you can…you can use ‘Hummel’.”

“Hummel? How did you come up with that?”

“It’s the name of my last connection before Peter. I think it is fitting to use it. I think it would make him very happy. He always treated me like a son.” It wasn’t the first time that Blaine had seen the sad little smile on Kurt’s face. It was amazing how well he was getting to know Kurt’s expressions, despite the short amount of time they had known each other. He hoped that one day Kurt would be comfortable enough to tell him the story of his connection with Mr. Hummel.

The gate finally opened and Blaine edged the car up the circular driveway, parking in between the large stone fountain and the front door. Kurt exited the car and leaned back against the door, running his eyes over the exterior of the house. It was huge and seemed much like some of the chateaus he had seen in the Loire Valley in France. It was constructed of cream stone and marble, with a gray slate roof that featured several fairytale-like turrets. Intricate wrought iron railings covered the bottom halves of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor and a covered walkway off of one end led to a multi-car garage with what looked to be an apartment overhead. Caught up in his study of the house, Kurt barely noticed when Blaine joined him, along with their luggage. “ _This_ is where you live?”

“Yes, is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that this is the kind of house that people ask to get with one of their wishes. No, wait, I take that back. No one has ever asked for this much before.”

“Come on, it’s not that big.”

Kurt pinned Blaine down with what could only be described as a ‘bitch please’ look. “And pray tell me, what is the square footage?”

The sheepish look on Blaine’s face said it all. “Um…around 30,000 I think.”

“I rest my case.”

With a laugh Blaine picked up the luggage from the sidewalk and headed to the door, which seemed to magically open as he neared. As Kurt passed through he realized it hadn’t been magic that had opened the door, but rather a neatly dressed woman in her 40s. “Mr. Anderson, welcome home,” she smiled, obviously happy to see Blaine.

“Thanks Kathleen. Kathleen this is my friend Kurt, who will be staying with us. Kurt, this is my mother’s assistant, Kathleen.”

As Helen and Kurt made their polite ‘hellos’, Kurt couldn’t help but be distracted by the amazing space he had just entered. The foyer was enormous, a two-story rotunda with white and cream pattered marble floors that led up to a dramatic white marble double staircase. The meticulously landscaped backyard and swimming pool could be seen between the two staircases on the main floor, which continued up to a landing before combining to reach the second floor. The entire room was covered with a dome painted in cream and gold, from which hung a spectacular chandelier that Kurt knew could only be Tiffany. He suddenly felt like Dorothy waking up in the bright Technicolor world of Oz after the black and white of Kansas. This was going to be interesting.

******

While Kurt gaped at the spectacle in front of him, Blaine sat the luggage down and moved off to the left, through the formal living room into the library. At this time of day his mother would most likely be found finishing up some paperwork at her desk there. She looked up as he entered and a pleased smile lit up her face.

“Blaine, we didn’t expect you back so soon. What a pleasant surprise.”

Blaine crossed to the desk and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Closing up the house went faster than I thought it would, so there was no reason to stay any longer.”

His mother was about to say something else when she noticed Kurt hesitating in the doorway. “Blaine, have you brought a guest? Introduce us, please.”

“Mother, this is Kurt Hummel, a friend of Peter’s who I have invited to come stay with us for a while. Kurt, this is my mother, Helen Anderson.”

Kurt moved forward to shake Helen's hand and the two smiled and made their polite greetings to each other, though it was obvious that Kurt felt ill-at-ease. Helen motioned toward the living room and the two men followed her into the room, which was decorated in cream and pink silk wallpaper and delicate French provincial furniture. She gracefully sank onto an embroidered loveseat and Blaine and Kurt each took a seat on a facing side chair. There was an awkward pause as the three of them looked at each other, no one quite sure of where to start. Helen looked as if she was just about to ask Kurt a question when Kathleen appeared and asked if there was anything else the men needed from the car before the chauffer moved it into the garage.

“Yes!” Kurt stood up quickly and took a few steps toward Kathleen before turning back to Blaine and Helen. “I have a few…personal items still in the car. If you will excuse me, I’ll just go get them and be right back.”

Blaine was puzzled for a moment, before remembering that Kurt’s samovar still rested in the trunk of the car and it was definitely not something that he wanted other people handling. He turned back to his mother to find her staring after Kurt. He could see the moment that she took note of what Kurt was wearing. Her eyes ran over the cut-outs in his sweater and shirt and widened slightly at the flashes of pale skin. She was too well mannered to make a comment out loud, but Blaine could feel the temperature drop, as she began to wonder what kind of man her son had brought into the house. She ignored the topic of their unexpected house guest for the moment and instead asked him about his trip to the lake and the closing up of the house. Blaine answered while keeping half of his attention on the doorway, wondering how long he should wait before going to check on Kurt.

Kurt hurried back to the living room about five minutes later, looking much more comfortable now that he knew his samovar was in a safe place. He found Blaine and Helen where he had left them, talking about the road conditions on the drive from the lake. They both looked up as he slipped back into his chair.

“Kathleen had already a bedroom picked out for me, so I carried my luggage up. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, dear,” Helen replied. “Now, tell me a little about…”

Helen’s question was interrupted when the living room doors were thrust open dramatically and in rushed a petite woman with long dark hair. The tiny pixy threw herself at Blaine, hugging him tight around the neck and speaking a mile-a-minute, her body practically bristling with indignation.

“Blaine! I am so glad you’re back. You won’t believe what is happening with my food bank charity committee. I know exactly what we should do for a fundraiser this year — you know I always have the best ideas. I have a real talent for fundraising — but the others are completely ignoring my superior plans. They won’t even listen to me. I was just beginning to give my presentation — you will be happy to know I took your advice and had pared it down to just 30 minutes — when a motion was made that we should vote right away on the ideas already submitted. At least 10 people seconded the motion and they —.“

“Woah, woah! Rachel, please slow down. I can hardly understand you when you talk so fast. I want to hear about your fundraising committee, I really do, but I want to introduce you to our houseguest first.” Introductions were made once again and Blaine was pleased to see that Rachel seemed to be on her best behavior. He loved her dearly, but was well aware that she was not the most diplomatic or self-aware person and her tendency to say whatever came to her mind had often landed her in awkward situations, no matter how hard Helen tried to control her. He was just about to begin to spin the tale that he and Kurt had concocted to explain his presence when he saw that someone else had followed Rachel into the room. The gorgeous blond woman with a sleek shoulder length bob handed her coat to Kathleen, smoothed her hands down the front of her dress to remove any wrinkles that had dared appear during the car ride and walked gracefully towards the group already gathered there.

Blaine was a little surprised to see the new arrival, but recovered quickly. “Quinn, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“I came to have lunch with Helen and Rachel. We weren’t sure when you were coming back, since you didn’t bother to call any of us, so we decided we would keep each other company.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. I have someone I’d like to introduce you to. Kurt, this is Quinn Fabray. She is —“

“I’m his fiancé.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Quinn, I have asked you to stop telling people that. You are not my fiancé,” Blaine stated wearily.

“Yet. I am not your fiancé yet. One of these days it’s going to be true.” Quinn greeted Helen with a kiss on the cheek before sinking onto a chair next to Rachel.

Blaine looked as if he wanted to argue with her further, but he just sighed deeply instead. “Kurt, Quinn is an old friend of the family. Her great-great-great-grandfather was one of the original partners in Anderson Steel. Both Quinn and her father work for the company today. She likes to try and stir up the pot with this whole ‘fiancé’ thing, but she knows well and good that she isn’t qualified for the position. She doesn’t have the necessary equipment.”

Rachel sniggered at Blaine’s comment, but Helen did not seem amused. “Blaine, please, there may be a time and a place for such crude talk, but it is certainly not here and not now.”

“You are right, mother. I apologize. On that note, I think that Kurt and I should go get cleaned up for lunch, which will leave you ladies just enough time to come up with a list of questions to ask him during the interrogation, I mean, lunch.”

Kurt smiled and nodded politely to the three women before following Blaine out the door and up the stairs to the bedrooms. As they made their way down the hallway, Blaine filled Kurt in with more information on Quinn.

“Quinn is an executive in our marketing department and her father was appointed acting-CEO after my father died. Their family is _very_ traditional and they want an Anderson back in control of the company, but only one who is sure to start producing a brood of little CEOs-in-waiting. I don’t exactly fit that bill, given obvious reasons, but Quinn won’t let it go. Her father wants her to be an Anderson and she is willing to put up with a husband who can’t be in love her in order to have the power that comes along with the Anderson name. She doesn’t care about me, just the title. I vacillate between being disgusted at her greed and power mongering and being impressed by her dedication to her goals.”

The last was said with definite amusement and Blaine didn’t seem overly concerned with the situation, but Kurt still felt a twinge of doubt. “So you aren’t really considering marrying her?”

“I…not really, it’s just... It is very important to my mother that I take over the company and the board won’t support me unless Quinn and I marry. I am trying to find other ways to convince them and get them on my side, but if it comes down to the wire I…I’m not sure what I will do. It’s not like I am involved with anyone and have to factor them into the decision and if it is the only way…”

“But it isn’t like if you married her you would actually have kids together.” Kurt struggled to keep his tone free of any judgment, but he hasn’t sure if he succeeded.

“No, but the board doesn’t have to know that. I’m sure we could convince them that I had ‘seen the light’ and started liking girls.” They reached their bedrooms and each paused in front of their corresponding door. “Why don’t we meet back here in 15 minutes?”

Kurt nodded and closed the bedroom door behind him. He couldn’t believe that Blaine would seriously consider, even as a last resort, marrying Quinn. It would sentence both of them to a life of cold, silent dinners, resentment and eventual infidelity. He had witnessed many such marriages of convenience over the years and found it hard to believe that someone could still see it is a viable option, especially now that gay couples didn’t have to hide away in shame and, in some areas, could actually get married themselves. No, this was a bad idea and Kurt was just going to have to find a way to help Blaine reach his goals another way.

******

Blaine washed up and changed into light gray dress pants with a red, black and white striped cardigan and a black bowtie. He was just about to leave the room when he caught a glance of himself in the mirror and realized that his hair was still un-styled and a riot of curls covered his head. He knew his mother preferred him with a more restrained hairstyle, so he grabbed a bottle of gel from the bathroom and ruthlessly tamed the curls into submission. With that done he walked back into the hallway to find Kurt already waiting for him. He had also changed his clothes and was now wearing dark gray dress pants, a slim fit white button-up with a gray front placket, and black waistcoat.

“I wasn’t dressed appropriately earlier,” Kurt lamented. “Part of looking fabulous is being dressed correctly for the setting. No wonder your mother looked at me as if I were a bug to be examined.”

“Much improved. Though don’t get me wrong. I did appreciate the other outfit, but you are right that this one is more my mother’s style. Shall we?” Blaine swept an arm towards the staircase. As they walked, Blaine could see Kurt making furtive glances at his hair. His face wore a definite smirk, but he didn’t comment, for which Blaine was eternally grateful. Once back on the main floor, he led Kurt off to informal dining room, where the ladies were already seated around the table. Just as Blaine had predicted, the interrogation began almost immediately.

“Kurt, I believe Blaine said your last name is Hummel?” Helen asked. “Would I know your family, dear?”

“No, that would be unlikely. I don’t have much family left and what I do have is scattered all over.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Are you from the Chicago area originally?”

“I’ve lived all over the world, so I don’t really call any one place home. I did live in Ohio for several years, though, which is as close as I got to Chicago.”

Helen looked like she might press further on the subject, but Quinn, who had obviously been briefed on Kurt while the men were changing, took advantage of the brief pause to ask her own question. “How did you know Peter? I gather the two of you were… close?” She arched an eyebrow delicately as she spoke, the implication she was making an obvious one and Blaine felt defensive on Kurt’s behalf, even though he himself had once thought the same thing of Kurt and Peter’s relationship. He was about to set Quinn straight on the matter when Kurt responded.

“I guess you could say we were close, yes. I work as a ghost writer and had been working with Peter for about a year on his memoirs. He lived such a rich life and was excited to be putting his story down on paper. When he started to get really ill I came to stay with him, since he was no longer able to make it into my office and it was becoming obvious that time was of the essence. After he passed I stayed to finish up some research and had been corresponding with Blaine about the house, so when he came to tie up the loose ends of the estate I made sure to meet up with him. I realized that he could prove invaluable in filling in some of the gaps in Peter’s story and I have so much writing left to do that he invited me to come stay for a while to finish up.” He turned to Helen at this point. “I hope that my being here isn’t an inconvenience. I had been planning on getting a hotel, but Blaine couldn’t stop talking about what a gracious hostess you are and how you have all this room in your lovely home. My being here is the most convenient for him if we are going to be collaborating on the book, but if this is in any way a problem please let me know and I can make other arrangements.”

Blaine watched as the emotions subtly played out on his mother’s face. He knew she wasn’t thrilled about having a houseguest, especially a long term one, but Kurt had masterfully backed her into a corner by calling her a gracious hostess and implying that his decision to stay was only made to fit in with Blaine’s needs.

“Of course you are welcome here. Any friend of Peter’s is a friend of ours. Please stay as long as you like in order to finish the book.”

******

The ladies took a break from their questioning to enjoy the delicious food that had been served by the personal chef and catch Blaine up on what he had missed while he was away. As he ate and listened, Kurt took his time examining each of the women. He thought he understood Helen pretty well. She was obviously used to a certain high level of society and good manners had been engrained into her from a very early age. Kurt had actually spent quite a bit of time with people like her in the past and knew how to handle her. His challenge was going to be in melting the icy walls she kept up, which were probably higher and thicker since her husband’s death. He could see the sorrow on her face, detailed in the lines of fatigue and shadows beneath her eyes. She hid her emotions behind a serene mask, but her love for Blaine and Rachel was there in every look she gave them, along with something else. A frantic look entered her eyes at certain moments when she looked at them, as if she was afraid that they would disappear if she looked away for too long.

Unlike Helen, Rachel wore her emotions on her sleeve (a sleeve that was part of the most god-awful combination of expensive designer clothes that Kurt had ever seen. How anyone could make designer garments look that bad was beyond him). She was hostile to Kurt, if the little glares she kept shooting him when she thought no one was looking were any indication, but Kurt wasn’t sure yet why she had taken a dislike to him. She looked at Blaine as if he hung the moon, she face lighting up every time his attention turned to her. Kurt wondered for a second if she had a crush on her older cousin, but quickly discarded the thought. He saw hero worship and definitely saw love, but it was not romantic. He thought about how Blaine had described her as ‘challenging’ and now knew just how correct that statement had been.

Finally he turned his thoughts to Quinn. Up close Kurt could see that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, with brilliant green eyes and lovely skin, but there was a hard expression in her eyes that kept her from being truly stunning. Kurt noted that while her ombre dress that graduated from white on the top to black with white embroidery towards the hemline was very chic, he would have gone with something a little more edgy that a pearl necklace. He could sense that she was actually going to be the biggest challenge. She had plans for Blaine and probably saw Kurt as a severe threat to those plans, if for no other reason than he ‘had the right equipment’. He watched her closely, noting the she had the same impeccable manners and posture as the other two women, but every one of her movements had a sharp edge to it. Her back was a little too straight, her fingers clenched too tightly around her silverware, her words a little too clipped.

Kurt was still looking at Quinn when a new visitor appeared and he was surprised by her reaction. As the man entered the room, her beautiful green eyes widened, then immediately narrowed into an icy glare. The napkin she had been holding up to her lips dropped to the floor unnoticed and her upraised hand began to tremble. She quickly dropped it into her lap, but it was too late to hide the shaking from Kurt. He wondered what it was about their new guest that had garnered such a reaction.

The man was a little rougher around the edges than someone Kurt would expect to see at the Anderson home. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt that seemed to advertise a music concert. His head was shaved on the sides, leaving a strip of hair only down the middle. He greeted Blaine with a handshake and turned to flash a confident smile at the ladies in the room, hesitating for just a second when his eyes found Quinn. He immediately returned his attentions to Helen, his face taking on a slight smirk. “Hey, Mrs. A, lookin’ good!” he smiled, wiggling both eyebrows up and down in a suggestive fashion.

“Mr. Puckerman, stop that. I am old enough to be your mother and this really isn’t appropriate at all. ” Despite her protests, Helen blushed, slightly flattered at the attention.

“But that is the way I like my women… aged to perfection,” he retorted with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

Blaine invited the man to join them for lunch and introduced him to Kurt as Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman, who was the new manager of Camp Wenatchee, the Anderson sponsored music camp. “The happiest times of my childhood were spent at that camp,” Puck related as the chef added a plate of food for him on the table. “I definitely fit the ‘disadvantaged’ bill and would have never have had the opportunity to discover my love for music if I hadn’t been sponsored by the Andersons to go. Blaine was volunteering at the same time and since I am from Chicago we were able to keep in touch even outside of camp. When the job at the camp opened up last year I jumped at the chance. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it means I get to spend more time with these lovely ladies from time to time.”

Helen and Rachel smiled and twittered a little at his flirting, but Quinn grew even more remote, if that was even possible. There was definitely a story there and Kurt wondered if he would ever find out what it was.

As the meal progressed, the conversation began to flow easier, especially between Blaine and himself, but it became evident that the women were not going to make it easy on them. When the bantering between Blaine and Kurt took on a slightly flirtatious note while talking about countries they had visited, Quinn pulled Blaine’s attention with a question about work. When Blaine showed a little too much interest in Kurt’s opinion on a song they had listened to in the car, Helen changed the subject by mentioning some improvements she wanted to make to the grounds in the spring. When Kurt sent Blaine into a laughing fit with a threat to perform a dance routine to Beyoncé’s _Single Ladies_ , Rachel sidetracked the conversation with memories of a childhood dance recital. Kurt began to feel like he was running an obstacle course, with each woman doing her best to prevent him from reaching his goal. He tried to take it all in good humor though, used to the resistance and discomfort that often came with his appearance in people’s lives.

After lunch, Blaine signed the paperwork that had been the purpose for Puck’s visit and Puck took his leave. Blaine mentioned that the forecast was for snow in the coming days, so he asked Kurt if he would like to tour the grounds while they still had good weather. The two of them gathered up their winter coats and set about walking the manicured paths behind the house.

“You know you may have to produce a manuscript of Peter’s memoirs at some point now, right?”

“I kind of backed myself into a corner there, didn’t I? That’s OK, I’m sure I can whip something up.”

Blaine laughed at that and pointed out the swimming pool they were passing, drained and closed down for the winter. “We usually open the pool in June, so you will have to wait until then to see it in all its glory, but it is worth it. Not very practical to have an outdoor pool in Chicago, but we never remember the hassle come August.”

Kurt couldn’t help the thrill that shot down his spine when Blaine spoke as if it was a given that Kurt would still be with them in 6 months. He knew that Blaine hadn’t been totally on board with the idea of Kurt coming home with him, so his acceptance that the situation might now be a long term one was good to hear. Also, Kurt was more than able to picture Blaine in a swimsuit, lounging on one of the poolside chairs and he was excited that the possibility of seeing it in the flesh, so to speak, existed.

Kurt heard his name called from several feet away and was startled to realize that he had come to a stop at the edge of the pool. Blaine had continued walking and was now looking back at him from the head of a path that led into a wooded section of the grounds. He hurried over to Blaine’s side, a blush darkening his cheeks. Luckily, Blaine didn’t seem to notice his distraction and began to regale him with tales of forts and pirate excursions and other childhood fantasies played out in the lavish backyard. Every so often while they walked their hands would brush up against each other and Kurt had to constantly fight the urge to just reach over and grab Blaine’s hand. After about 30 minutes of exploring, the men were surprised to hear their names being called from behind a hedge. Moments later, Rachel appeared, decked out in a horribly clashing hat, scarf and coat.

While Kurt was still recovering from the pain caused by her sartorial choices, Rachel pushed her way in between the two men, nearly knocking him into a snow bank, and took Blaine’s arm. “So Kurt, you are ghost writing Peter’s memoirs?” she asked, doubt evident in her voice. “I assume you are already a published author, then? I’d love to read some of your work, if you could give me a list.”

“I have worked on several other memoirs, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you which ones. Celebrities are very nervous about it getting out that they used a ghost writer, so there are strict confidentially clauses written into my contracts.”

“Of course,” Rachel mocked, “I totally understand. Well, I am somewhat of an expert on the biographies and memoirs of musical performers. I have read every one that has ever been published, so if you have any questions or would like my opinion on anything you have written for Peter’s book, just let me know. I would be happy to lend you my insights.”

Rachel turned her attentions to Blaine, clasping his arm tighter as she began telling him with stories of a charity musical performance she had taken part in over the weekend. Listening to her go on and on about herself, Kurt briefly allowed himself to picture what she would look like as a yapping Chihuahua, but found the idea too tempting, so he quickly pushed it away. Now would not be a good time for him to lose control of his powers. Blaine kept trying to bring Kurt back into the conversation, but the harder he tried the more determined Rachel was to exclude him. She pulled Blaine forward on the path so that they were no longer walking besides Kurt and focused the conversation on family stories and private jokes, all the while looking back to give quick glares in Kurt’s direction. She would have continued to monopolize Blaine, but his phone suddenly rang and he slipped out of her grasp to pull it from his pocket.

When he ended the call a few minutes later he turned to Kurt with a regretful look. “That was the office. I need to finish up a report and send a few emails before the close of business today, so I’m afraid I have to cut our tour a little short. Are you ready to go back in?”

“It is such a beautiful day. Let me finish up showing Kurt around the grounds,” Rachel offered. When Blaine looked a little reluctant to leave Kurt behind, she added with a charming smile, “I’ll return him to the house safe and sound. I promise.”

Her smile must have been convincing, because Blaine hurried off to the house, leaving Kurt and Rachel together on the path to the gazebo. Rachel slid he arm into Kurt’s and tugged him towards the structure, giving him some historical information on the house and the area. When they reached the little white building she stepped inside, sat on one of the wooden seats and patted the space next to her, asking Kurt to sit also. Once he was seated she turned to him and her smile immediately changed, reminding Kurt of photo of a shark he had once seen.

“So Kurt, now that it is just the two of us, I think it is time for a heart-to-heart. I am an excellent judge of people and also a little bit psychic — just a few of my many talents — and I can tell that you haven’t been telling us the truth. You may have fooled Blaine and Helen with this ghost writer story, but you aren’t fooling me. I know what Peter was like, what his type was, and I don’t blame you for using him as your sugar daddy, I really don’t, but there is no way I am letting you sink your hooks into Blaine. Do you know how many gold diggers have tried to get at him throughout the years? Too many to count. It was actually pretty amusing at first. Before it was well known that he was gay, women would throw themselves at him everywhere we went. I almost felt sorry for them. Later of course the men started coming around, but they didn’t have any more success. Blaine is too smart for that and he will see through you soon enough. I have a proposal for you, though. Let’s just save ourselves the time and aggravation of suffering through this charade and come to an agreement now. How much?”

Kurt was still trying to figure out why people would come to Blaine looking to dig gold when he realized that Rachel had finally stopped talking. “How much what?” he asked.

“How much money do you want to leave now and never come back?”

The desire to turn Rachel into a yapping Chihuahua returned full force and Kurt had to close this eyes and gather himself before he was able to continue. “Rachel, while I’m sure your talent for reading people is spot on in most cases, I can assure you that in this instance you are very wrong.” Kurt could hear the patronizing tone in his voice and knew it wasn’t making the situation any better, but he couldn’t control it. “I am not after Blaine for his gold and I can promise you that I am not looking to hurt him in any way. We are friends and he is going to help me with my project. That is all.”

“Blaine doesn’t need another friend. He has enough friends and he has me. His mother needs him here right now and she deserves his undivided attention. He missed a lot while he was off in New York. He missed holidays and performances and wasn’t always there when we needed him. Now that he is back with us we don’t need strangers coming in to try and take him away again.” Rachel stopped abruptly, perhaps realizing that she had revealed too much during her tirade.

Kurt could sense her insecurities and knew there was a reason behind how she was acting, but he needed to leave before he said something to make the situation worse. He knew he had the tendency to say things he didn’t mean in times of high emotion and didn’t want to take that risk now. “I don’t want to take Blaine away from you. I know there probably isn’t anything that I can say to make you believe me right now, but it is the truth. Hopefully you will come to understand that as you get to know me better. I think it is probably best if I return to the house now. I’ll see you at dinner.” He stood up gracefully and stepped back onto the path.

”I wish you had never come here,” Rachel cried after him.

Kurt paused and his back stiffened before he continued on back to the house, leaving Rachel alone in the gazebo.


	7. Chapter 7

Blaine arrived late at breakfast the next morning, to find Rachel, Kurt, and his mother already seated. He wasn’t surprised at their silence, since dinner the night before had definitely been awkward with Helen looking at Kurt as if he might steal the silverware and Rachel giving him odd looks out of the corner of her eye. He had asked Kurt after dinner if Rachel had said or done anything after he had left them in the backyard, but Kurt just replied that everything was fine and that he shouldn’t worry.

The chef brought in serving platters of French toast, bacon, and eggs that were quickly passed around the table. Blaine normally had orange juice with breakfast, but the chef told him that they had run out the day before, so he resigned himself to settling for milk. He had just taken a few bites of his food when the chef reappeared with a pitcher of orange juice.

“I found this sitting on the top shelf of the refrigerator. I don’t know how I missed it the first time. I think I’ll have to have my eyes checked out,” she related with an embarrassed grin.

Blaine thanked her for the juice and looked over at Kurt, sure that he had had something to do with the magically appearing beverage, but Kurt was studiously avoiding his gaze, suddenly very interested in the plaster work on the walls.

Making a mental note to pursue the topic with him later, Blaine decided to try and get the conversation started. “Mother, what are your plans for the day?”

“I have a meeting of the Horticulture Society today to begin planning some improvements to the Botanical Gardens. I also have a dinner meeting which will run late, so I probably won’t see you until tomorrow. I’m glad I have the Society to get me through the winter months when I can’t be out in the garden. I know we have the conservatory, but I really miss my flower garden at this time of year.”

Kurt perked up a little bit as Helen was talking and Blaine held his breath, sure that at any moment the flowers on the wallpaper were going to start blooming before their eyes, but the moment passed without disaster. Maybe Kurt would be able to control himself.

“I’m going over to the women’s shelter today,” Rachel volunteered. “We are planning a President’s Day performance and I am teaching the kids their song and dance routine today. You should see them, Blaine. They are all so cute and eager to please. There is one girl who reminds me so much of myself at that age. She doesn’t quite have my natural talent, but the drive is definitely there. I have been thinking about trying to get her signed up for some formal lessons. I just need to convince her mother to let me pay for them. Maybe we should set up a scholarship? I’ll have to look into that. Anyway, you will have to come and see the performance. I’ll put it on your calendar.”

“Sounds great, Rachel. What do you think, Kurt? Want to join me for an evening of pint-sized kids singing about Washington and Lincoln?”

Rachel let a pained expression reach her face for just a split second before pasting on a smile. “Kurt, of course you are invited too. If you are still here, that is,” she choked out from behind gritted teeth.

Kurt smiled sweetly at her reluctant invitation. “Thanks Rachel. I’d love to attend. And I think the idea of a scholarship sounds wonderful. Blaine told me all about Camp Wenatchee and I think it is amazing what your family is doing for kids and the arts. It would be great to see it extended even more.”

“Yes! Some people just don’t get how important the arts are. We spend so much time appreciating music, theater, and dance, but people don’t stop and think about how the artists they are admiring had to be taught and nurtured. If we stop teaching children about the arts we are depriving ourselves of generations of future artists.” Rachel set her fork down on her plate, caught up in her passion for the subject. “I lived for applause when I was a child.”

The two of them went on to talk for several minutes about theater. Kurt didn’t have much knowledge about current works, but impressed Rachel with his knowledge of the classics. They were in the middle of a debate about the best Shakespeare tragedy when Rachel faltered and seemed to remember that she didn’t like Kurt very much. She looked uncertain for a moment, torn between continuing their kindred-spirit conversation and relegating him once more to the role of unwanted intruder. She abruptly changed the subject and asked Blaine when he would be returning to work.

“I think I’ll take the rest of the week off and help Kurt get settled in. Matter of fact, Kurt, if you’re done maybe I can take you on a tour of the house now?”

Kurt nodded and carefully placed his napkin on the table before rising and thanking Helen and Rachel for breakfast. The two men left the room and started exploring the rest of the rooms on the main floor. They made their way through the kitchen, formal dining room and the enormous ballroom before ending up in the conservatory. Blaine watched as Kurt explored the plant filled room with delight. It was almost everyone’s favorite room in the house and it looked like Kurt was now under its spell as well. Next, he led the way downstairs, which contained, among other things, a lavish home theater, a game room, a bar and a bowling alley.

“These rooms made me a very popular guy in high school,” Blaine noted. “We would almost always end up here on the weekends. My parents really should have thought twice before putting in a sound-proofed bar when they had a teenager in the house. It was good for me, though. I learned quite early on that I am an overly affectionate drunk and it was good that I was able to learn it in the comfort and security of my own home and not in a bar somewhere. I shudder to think what damage I could have done if I had been set out upon the world like that.”

Kurt tilted his head, as if trying to picture Blaine back in high school. “I just can’t see it. You seem so in control and formal. I think I’d love to see ‘Inappropriate Blaine’. Speaking of in control and formal, what it going on with the matinee idol hair? You look just like the actors in the movies I used to go see back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Why are you torturing your curls like this? What did they ever do to you?”

“My mother likes it this way, so I usually style it like this when I am here.”

“Well, I liked it better before.”

Blaine felt a charge in the air and then his scalp began to tingle slightly. He moved one hand up to his head only to discover that his hair gel had disappeared and instead of his neat combed down hairstyle he now sported a full head of curls.

“There, much better,” Kurt exclaimed.

“Kurt, what are you doing? You can’t just do things like that. What if someone saw?”

At just that moment Blaine heard the door at the top of the stairs open, followed by the click of high heeled shoes.

“Blaine, are the two of you down here?” At the sound of his mother’s voice Blaine turned to Kurt in a panic. She had seen his hair at breakfast and there was no way she wouldn’t notice that he now looked like a cocker-spaniel puppy. He motioned frantically to Kurt, silently pleading with him to put his hair back the way it had been. Kurt pouted and looked for a moment like he wasn’t going to comply, but Blaine felt the tingling once again and suddenly the curls were gone. His mother appeared around the corner a second later, unaware that her son’s heart was beating a mile a minute. He tried to concentrate as she told them that she was leaving for her meeting, but he could feel one curl at his forehead start to loosen from its hold. It worked its way out of the gel and began a slow return to its natural state. Kurt just smiled at him innocently, as if he was not fully aware of what was going on, but Blaine knew that he was controlling the curl just to torture him. Yet another thing he was going to have to talk with Kurt about later.

******

After the hair fiasco, Kurt thought it would be a good idea to give Blaine a little space, so he left him reading in the library and found a cozy spot in the conservatory to curl up in, armed with several back issues of Vogue. Sitting in a lounge chair next to a fountain and an orange tree, Kurt felt at ease for the first time since reaching Chicago. As he flipped through the magazines — absorbing the colors, lines, and textures — his mind began racing with designs of his own. Unable to get them out of his head, he concentrated on the table beside him and picked up the sketch book that appeared there. He began drawing pieces of clothing on featureless models, but as time progressed the drawings took inspiration from the people he had met so far. Items that would be perfect for Rachel, Quinn, and Helen filled the pages. He then turned his mind towards men’s fashion drawing several outfits that would look wonderful on Blaine and several for himself. Engrossed in his work he lost track of time, but hours must have passed because when he next looked up the sun had set and the clock showed that the dinner hour was approaching.

A rustling of ferns nearby warned him that someone else had entered the conservatory, so he wasn’t surprised when Blaine appeared.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you. We have about an hour or so before dinner, in case you want to change. Rachel has invited her boyfriend and my best friend, Santana, is also coming. I think you will find her vastly amusing. And offensive. You two might have a lot in common, actually. I think the room might collapse under the weight of all the snark and sarcasm.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad, am I?”

“No, but Santana is and I have a feeling you might rise to the occasion. Just ignore almost everything she says and you should be fine.” Blaine leaned against the wall and crossed one foot over the other. “What have you got there?” he asked, noticing the sketch book on Kurt’s lap.

“I’ve been sketching some clothing designs. I guess you and your family have inspired me. Would you like to see?” Blaine grinned and joined Kurt on the lounge chair. He flipped through the book, stopping on several sketches to point out elements that he particularly liked.

“These are great. I can’t believe you were able to come up with these so quickly.”

Kurt blushed, taking the book back from Blaine. “Thanks. Just something to pass the time. I should go up and change for dinner. I don’t want to be late. See you in an hour?”

Kurt hurried back to his room, knowing that he had to pick out a great outfit for that evening now that more guests were coming. Blaine had told him that the family didn’t dress formally for dinner, but that didn’t mean that Kurt wasn’t going to look his best. Looking through his sketch pad he wondered if anything he had drawn tonight would work. He finally decided on a sketch of a dark gray waistcoat, dark gray pants with a wide stripe of burgundy down the outside of each leg, and a blue-gray shirt. To this he added a silk scarf that he wound around his neck and tucked into the vest like an ascot and a pocket watch. He styled his hair even higher than before, inspired by the quiffs the 1950s, then took one last look in the full length mirror. Not perfect, but it would do.

He entered the living room minutes later to find Blaine and Rachel already present, along with young man he didn’t recognize. Kurt’s eyes went right to Blaine and scanned his slim fitting black pants and short-sleeved, red cable knit sweater over a white button-up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up a bit. His ever present bowtie was red and white striped. The others were caught up in conversation, so Kurt was able to covertly admire the way that Blaine’s pants accentuated all the right parts of his body. Cheeks burning, Kurt quickly looked away, afraid to be caught looking where he shouldn’t.

Blaine looked up and saw Kurt hovering in the doorway. “Kurt, you’re here! Come meet Finn, Rachel’s boyfriend.”

Kurt crossed the room and held out his hand to Finn. “Pleased to meet you.”

Finn was extremely tall and moved as if he didn’t yet have confidence in where his arms and legs ended. He leapt up to shake Kurt’s hand and nearly up-ended a side table, barely saving the lamp on top of it from smashing to the ground. He cast a self-conscious smile over his shoulder at Rachel, who just shook her head with an amused look.

“Um…nice to meet you dude. Rachel told me all about —“ A well placed elbow from Rachel stopped him cold and he stuttered a little before continuing. “I...I mean, no, Rachel hasn’t told me anything about you. Of course she hasn’t. In fact I’ve never heard of you before. What was your —“ Rachel hissed his name and prevented him from fumbling further by wrapping a hand around his arm and dragging him back to his chair.

Blaine was just about to offer Kurt a before dinner drink when the last member of their party joined them. The woman who entered the room was exotically beautiful, with long black hair pulled back into a high pony tail and bright red lips. Her dress was that of a predator — a tight fitting sleeveless black leather dress that flared just below the knee and ended mid-calf, topped off with a wide leather and metal belt in red, silver and copper. The effect was stunning and left the viewer in no doubt as to the attitude of the woman wearing it. Within seconds she had joined their small group and reached over to give Blaine a quick, hard hug. She glanced around at the others and zeroed in on Rachel.

 “Rachel, lovely to see you. Is the bulb burned out in your closet light again? It looks like you got dressed in the dark. And Finn, glad to see you could join us. Are they going to miss you at the top of the beanstock? God, I can’t even look at the two of you together. I keep waiting for Rachel to push you to the ground and stake you down, Lilliputian style.”

“And we’re off,” Blaine murmured softly in Kurt’s ear. “Santana,” he said a little bit louder, “I’m happy you could make it.”

Santana acknowledged Blaine with a nod and turned to look Kurt up and down closely.

“Well, well, well. Blaine here sure went out and got himself a yummy piece of man candy. Blaine, I have to say your taste is improving. That last guy you brought around looked like he belonged in a production of _The Bland and the Mediocre_. I much prefer Mr. Tall, Pale, and Gorgeous here.”

“Santana, I told you Kurt is just a friend. Please don’t make him feel uncomfortable this early in the evening. Can you just hold off on being yourself for a little while longer?”

 “Sorry, did you just say something? I was mesmerized by your guy over here. Did I miss the announcement that they were filming the next Lord of the Rings movie around here because I think they have lost one of their elves. Is Orlando Bloom here too?”

Kurt didn’t quite understand all of the references Santana was making, but he definitely got the gist of it. He wondered if anyone ever had a real conversation with her or if she kept everyone at arm’s length with her quips and snarky attitude. “Wow, Blaine wasn’t kidding about you, was he?” Kurt marveled in amazement.

“Blaine, have you been talking trash about me again? I’ve told you to stop that. You are no good at it. You just don’t have the natural talent like I do.”

“Who me? I don’t know what the elf is referring too. He must be imagining things.” Blaine smiled slightly and put a hand on Kurt’s back to lightly direct him towards the dining room. “I believe dinner is just about ready, so why don’t we go on in?”

Kurt could think of little other than the warmth and weight of Blaine’s hand sitting in the middle of his back. He was torn between relief and disappointment when the contact was lost as Blaine pulled a chair out for him and then moved onto this own seat at the table.

As dinner was served and everyone began tucking into their meal, Rachel gathered up enough nerve to try and hit back at Santana for her earlier comment.

“Santana, I ran into one of your old law professors at a function lately. He seemed to be under the mistaken impression that you dropped out to become a stripper. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to correct his misunderstanding.”

Rachel’s shot was a complete miss, garnering only amusement from the intended target. “See Kurt, I was going to law school, but it was making my father a little too happy, so I needed to make a change. I started modeling here and there just for fun and that really made him angry, which was, you know, kind of awesome, so I took some time off school and here I am, more than a year later, a full-time model. I’ll go back and finish my degree up sooner or later, but don’t tell my parents that. I want to torture them a little bit more.” The devilish smile she wore grew even more are she spun her attention back to Rachel. “Don’t worry Rachel, I’ll make sure to correct any false impressions your college professors have about you. Oh, wait…you didn’t go to college, did you? Oops, my bad.”

The fury on Rachel’s face was evident, but she wisely held her tongue, knowing that she was of no match to Santana in a verbal joust. Choosing to ignore the other woman completely she asked the others opinions on the upcoming Academy Awards. Kurt had nothing to offer on the subject, so he just observed as Santana and Blaine debated with Rachel on the merits of niche independent films versus larger crowd pleasing movies. The conversation soon devolved into Rachel picking apart the performances of the female nominees, explaining in great detail how she would have performed each role better.

 “Rachel, your constant talk about yourself is interfering with my digestion,” Santana drawled.

Blaine sensed a storm brewing and stepped in to try and divert everyone’s attention. “Finn, how is coaching going? How are the kids doing this season?”

Finn had been volunteering as a football and basketball coach at the local YMCA and was currently in the middle of basketball season. “Dude, you should see them out there. They are having a lot of fun and I think this year we might actually make it to the post-season. Coaching has been great too! The kids have only hid my whistle three times this year.”

Finn gestured widely with his hands as he spoke and accidently knocked over the vase of flowers in the middle of the table, sending water everywhere. It took all of Kurt’s will power not to wish the water away. It was not in his nature to let little disasters like that go unfixed. Blaine looked up from the end of the table where he was sopping up water with a napkin, to give Kurt a thankful nod. Well, at least someone was happy with his inaction.

Once the water was cleaned up and the flowers righted again, Blaine brought the conversation back to Finn in an attempt to lessen his embarrassment. “So, have you decided yet what you are going to do now that you are out of high school?”

Finn shot Rachel a look, as if expecting her to answer for him. When she made no attempt to jump in he replied “My mom wants me to go work with my uncle in the family business, but I don’t want to succeed just because I’m a Hudson,” he sent a guilty look to Blaine, afraid that his comments would be seen as a criticism of his return to Anderson Worldwide. When he got an encouraging smile from the older man he continued on. “I…I was thinking of maybe starting my own business. I’d like to get ahead on my own merits. Stand on my own two feet.”

“Please Finn, who do you think you are kidding?” Santana snorted. “If you weren't a trust fund baby you would be looking forward to a life of asking me if I want fries with my meal. Or maybe a career as the newest player for the Harlem Globetrotters. It depends on if they have room for someone of your size in the team bus. Seriously, where do they even have a Big and Freakishly Tall store around here? You look like you belong in a Tim Burton film...or on a floating barge with a bikini-clad Princess Leia chained to your enormous middle.”

Blaine and Rachel protested loudly, while Finn just looked self-conscious. Kurt glanced around at everyone, thoroughly confused. Finn was really tall, but didn’t seem overweight to him. And who was Princess Leia and why would royalty be chained to someone?

“Hey, I'm just keeping it real. I think we can all agree that no one is going to be asking Finn to join a think tank anytime soon.” Santana took a moment to chuckle at her own joke.

 “You’re just jealous because Finn has everything you don’t. He’s compassionate and wants to help others succeeds. He thinks about other people before he thinks of himself. He doesn’t spend all of his time tearing people down to make himself feel better,” Rachel bristled with indignation.

Finn gave Rachel a big smile and leaned over to give her a kiss. Santana just made a face as if she had smelled something foul and looked away in disgust. A truce seemed to have been called and Santana behaved for the rest of the meal, even asking Kurt some polite questions about his past and the book he was writing about Peter. After dessert was finished Blaine suggested that they play a game in the bowling alley downstairs. When Kurt confessed that he didn’t know how to play Finn volunteered to give him a quick tutorial.

Blaine, Santana, and Rachel hung back at the bar while Kurt and Finn walked over to the bowling lane and waited for the computer to set up the pins.

“So, Kurt, are you and Blaine…I mean…are you…do you…well, you just seem really gay, right?” Kurt was endlessly entertained by the look of horror that filled Finn’s face as his stumbling sentence came to an end. “Not that there is anything wrong with that, dude. Cause there isn’t. God, of course not. I didn’t mean to imply… I mean, I’m down with the gays, you know. Not down low, though. That is something different. I’m definitely not that. I’ve got Rachel and…I think I should just stop talking now.”

Finn looked as if he wished the ground would open up and swallow him and Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. He promised Finn that he wasn’t offended and confirmed that yes, he was gay, but no, he and Blaine weren’t together. Kurt was surprised to find that he really liked Finn. He found him oddly charming and liked the earnestness with which he approached everything. He seemed to frequently put his foot in his mouth, but it seemed to come from naivety and an eagerness to be liked, not from a place of malice. Kurt had watched his interactions with Rachel and decided that they actually made a cute couple. He seemed to bring out the best in the girl, who dropped her bristly persona around him. However, Kurt sensed that Rachel was more ambitious that Finn and wondered if that would cause problems further down the road.

After their bowling tutorial was finished Kurt took a seat on one of the stools at the bar and watched Santana as she mixed herself a drink.

“You’re new, so I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I just want to make sure that you realize that if you hurt him you won’t even get a chance to regret it before I come down on you with all the wrath of one of those scorned women on Lifetime TV,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. “Blaine is the only person in this world that means anything to me and I will end anyone who doesn’t treat him right. Understood?”

“Understood. And the same goes for you. You had better watch you vicious tongue around him. I’m not sure why people let you get away with talking to them like that, but I don’t like it and you had better not hurt Blaine by speaking before you think.”

Santana considered him for a moment with a serious look on her face before breaking out in a smile. “I like you, Legolas, I really do. Let’s get our drink on.”

Kurt watched as she started pulling colorful bottles off of the shelves. “Oh, I really don’t drink alcohol. It doesn’t really agree with me.”

“Come on, Angel Eyes! One little drink won’t hurt you. Don’t worry, I won’t try and get you drunk and take advantage of you. You’re safe with Aunty Tana.”

After a few minutes of mixing and a rather impressive show with the cocktail shaker she pressed a tall glass full of a colorful liquid into his hands.

“Bottoms up!”

Kurt tentatively sipped the beverage, which was surprisingly tasty. It had been a very long time since he had tried alcohol. Recipes had changed so much over the years; Modern alcohol probably wouldn’t have the negative effect on him that the old stuff did. He continued to sip his drink as he turned his attention to Blaine and Rachel, who were arguing over who would bowl first. Santana carried her drink over to the lane and joined in the argument, claiming that they should bowl in order of height, which meant that the two of them would be at the end of the line. The quarrel seemed good natured and one they had had before, so Kurt just sat back and watched their interpersonal dynamic. Despite Santana’s earlier sniping at Rachel the two didn’t seem to totally dislike each other. Finn and Rachel were now joking around with her, threatening to use the bowling ball that she favored.

Kurt was distracted from his thoughts when a napkin and a swizzle stick tumbled past him, floating in mid-air. Oh oh — this wasn’t good. He carefully set his half-empty glass on the bar and called out quietly to Blaine to get his attention. Blaine looked up at the sound of his name and left Finn and the girls to come to Kurt’s side.

“Hey, are you going to bowl with us?”

“Blaine, I’m afraid that you are probably about to get very angry with me.”

“What? Why?”

“I told Santana I shouldn’t drink, but she made me such a lovely cocktail and it would have been rude not to accept. It has been so long that I might have underestimated the adverse effect alcohol has on my…on my…” Kurt broke off with a loud hiccup and reached up to cover his mouth, his eyes open wide.

“Kurt, don’t worry about it. Everyone gets a little drunk sometimes. Nothing to be —“ Blaine’s assurances died in his throat as a box of paper umbrellas on the shelf behind the bar opened by itself and dozens of the little umbrellas floated out. They swirled in a pattern over the bar, opening and closing in sequence before sailing off towards the staircase. Behind the bar, the contents of the bottles were bubbling and swirling like lava lamps and several were changing color every few seconds. Blaine turned in disbelief to Kurt, unsure of what he was seeing.

“Um…as I was saying, alcohol has an adver…adv…bad effect on my powers. I kind of lose control. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Blaine whipped his head around to the group still squabbling near the bowling lane, but they were oblivious to the show going on at the bar. He lightly grabbed Kurt’s arm and pulled him up from his stool towards the game room, shutting the door behind them once they were inside.

“How far do your powers reach?” he asked, watching as a pin ball machine lit up as if being controlled by a phantom player. “If we stay in here will stuff stop happening out in the bar?”

“I think…I think so, but I don’t know. It has been a really long time since I…Hey, have I ever told you that you kind of remind me of a puppy I used to know?”

“What? Kurt, can you focus here? How do we fix this? Is this going to wear off anytime soon?”

“You are just so happy and eager to please and you look at me with those big beautiful eyes and I just think ‘puppy’. I think it is the hair too. When it’s curly it looks just like the hair of this dog that one of my former connections owned. You wouldn’t believe the resemblance. Here, I’ll show you.”

“No, Kurt, I believe you! Don’t —“ Blaine’s protests were in vain and he watched in horror as a puppy appeared out of thin air. Kurt dropped down to his knees and held his arms wide open, which encouraged the animal to run over to them, barking happily. Kurt gathered the dog in his arms, laughing as it licked his face.

“See Blaine! Look at his curly black hair and his beautiful brown eyes. Doesn’t he look just like you? Well, your eyes aren’t brown. More of a golden caramel color. But it isn’t the color that reminded me of you. It is the expression. See?” Kurt held his hand under the dog’s chin and held his face up towards Blaine.

“Kurt, get rid of the dog, please,” Blaine implored with one eye on the door. “We can’t let the others see him. How would we explain how he got here?”

“No, I don’t want to get rid of him! He is so cute. I want to keep him. And I think he needs a friend.”

Two more small dogs popped into the room and began running in excited figure eights around Blaine’s feet. He reached down and pulled the puppy out of Kurt’s arms before raising him to his feet. He placed his hands on Kurt’s shoulders to capture his attention away from the dogs. “Kurt, I need you to concentrate. Are you paying attention?” He waited for Kurt to give a slightly uncoordinated nod before continuing. “Santana, Rachel and Finn are just on the other side of that door and they are going to come looking for us any second. I won’t be able to explain how three dogs got in here, so I need you to pull yourself together and make them disappear. Can you do that for me?”

Kurt was able to focus long enough to comprehend the worry in Blaine’s voice. “Yes, I’ll try. I’m not sure how much control I have though.” Kurt turned his attention to the puppies, concentrating very hard on doing as Blaine asked. It took a minute or two, but he was finally able to make the animals disappear, with no sign of them having been there.

Blaine gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’m going to tell the others that you aren’t feeling well and that we need to cut the night short. Can you stay in here for me? I don’t want you to go out there until we know that you have your powers under control.”

He nodded and Blaine slipped out of the door. Kurt backed up against the wall, sliding down it until he was seated once again. He could hear Blaine making his excuses to the others and their resulting cries of sympathy. It was several minutes before he heard footfalls retreating up the stairs and a few more before Blaine returned to the game room. He came in with a comic look around the room, looking under a table and behind the door, overplaying the moment as if to try and cheer Kurt up.

He walked over and sank down to the floor next to Kurt. “Well, that was an adventure.”

“Blaine, I don’t know what to say. I knew better. I shouldn’t have taken that drink. I swear, I’ll never do it again —“

“Kurt, don’t worry about it. It all turned out alright. I’m no picnic around alcohol either, remember? Maybe you and I will just be the official designated drivers from now on, OK?” He smiled over at Kurt who gave a sad smile in return. “And hey, that puppy was pretty cute. I’ll take it as a compliment that it reminded me of you.”

Kurt groaned, embarrassed now that he had sobered up enough to regain control of his facilities.

“I think maybe it is best if we turned in for the night, what do you say?” Blaine asked, reaching over to lightly run his hand up and down Kurt’s arm.

“You go on ahead. I think I am going to stay down here until I have completely sobered up. I don’t want to scare Kathleen by making the rugs dance or anything.”

“Would you like me to stay with you?”

“Actually, I’d like to be alone for a while, if you don’t mind.” Blaine looked reluctant to leave him, so Kurt pressed on. “Please, this was really embarrassing and I just need to lick my wounds. Ugh, no pun intended.”

Blaine gave a small laugh. “There is the Kurt I know. I’ll head up, but please let me know if you need anything, OK?”  
  
Kurt remained in the game room for about an hour after Blaine left, running through the events of the day and trying to keep his mind off of how it ended. Eventually he got up and returned to his bedroom. As he got ready for the night he swore to himself that he would try harder tomorrow. He was going to fit in here if it was the last thing he did.


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt wasn’t at breakfast the next morning and when Blaine checked his bedroom it looked like the bed hadn’t been slept in (wait, did Kurt even sleep in a bed or did he sleep in the samovar?). Worried that Kurt might not have left the game room the night before, Blaine headed downstairs to check. He wasn’t there, but faint music was coming from behind the partially ajar door of the home theater room. The theater was spectacular, filled with twenty overstuffed reclining lounge chairs and a giant 12 foot screen, which retracted into the ceiling to expose a large curtained stage that Blaine’s parents had added when Rachel began holding command performances of Disney songs as a child. Those performances were also the reason why the room had such good sound-proofing. There was only so many times one could hear ‘Part of Your World’ being practiced.

As Blaine entered the room, he saw that the _Les Misérables 10 th Anniversary Concert_ was playing on the screen, the music washing over the room. He found Kurt sitting in the second row of seats, knees pulled up to his chin and a rapt expression on his face. When he heard Blaine enter he swiveled his head around to pin him with an accusing expression.

“I can’t believe that you waste your time listening to over produced pop music when you could be listening to this,” he waved wildly at the screen, where Michael Ball and Lea Salonga had just stepped forward to sing their duet of ‘A Little Fall of Rain’. “The romance, the tragedy, the comedy. Blaine, I have found my nirvana and it is Broadway.”

“So, are you saying that you like it? Because I’m getting mixed messages here.” Kurt threw a well-aimed pillow at his head, which Blaine casually side-stepped with a laugh.

“You don’t understand. This is what has been missing from my life. Singing, dancing, and spectacle, what isn’t to love? I couldn’t sleep last night, so I decided a movie marathon was just what the doctor ordered. So far I have watched _The Phantom of the Opera_ and _Moulin Rouge_ and I think _Hairspray_ will be next after this is finished.” He reached over to pause the movie on the screen. “God, that man’s voice,” he pointed up to Michael Ball on the screen, “I just want to wrap myself up in it like it is a warm blanket.”

“If you think this is good, you should hear him sing ‘Love Changes Everything’ from _Aspects of Love_ or ‘Anthem’ from _Chess_.”

“Yes, please! Do you have those songs?”

“Remind me to show you how to use the computer today, so you can start downloading your own music.” Blaine settled himself down in the chair next to Kurt. “I know you can just think about them and ‘poof’, there they are, but we should get you used to doing things the hard way.”

“’Poof’? Really, Blaine? You think I make things go ‘poof’?”

“That is the sound I hear in my head, yes. Not elegant, but fitting.” He gave Kurt one of his patented wide smiles. “Anyway, Broadway, huh? You know, you should really talk to Rachel if you are into Broadway. I think she has every show ever performed memorized. It has always been an obsession of hers.”

“Hmmm…I’ll take that under advisement. Might be a good way to break the ice a little.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try. And I do appreciate it. You trying, I mean. I know she can be a difficult nut to crack, but I think you will find that she is worth it.” Blaine gestured up to the screen, “We will have to make a trip to New York City soon. Take in a bunch of Broadway shows in person. Les Miz isn’t playing any longer, but I’m sure we won’t have any problem finding enough tragedy and melodrama to make you happy.”

“Ohhhh, yes! All the melodrama!” Kurt squealed with excitement. “The last time I was in New York Broadway just consisted of shows like the _Ziegfeld Follies_. Chorus girls dancing around to random songs with no real plot —though the costumes were amazing, I must admit.” He paused, considering Blaine for a moment, “So, speaking of melodrama… Santana. She is very…interesting.”

“Ah, yes. She can be an acquired taste. Santana has been my best friend since we were little kids. Her family is ‘new money’, so they weren’t easily accepted by a lot of Chicago society. I didn’t care, though. The first time I saw her she punched a kid that was picking on me and trying to steal my bowtie. I have been in her debt ever since. She is also the one that helped me figure out I was gay. I had my suspicions and confessed them to her one evening, so she offered to kiss me to help clear things up. So there I was, kissing this incredibly beautiful girl and all I could think was ‘Yep, I’m 100% gay’. It was enlightening. Of course, it wasn’t all altruistic of her. Turns out she had been questioning her sexuality also and wanted to use me as a final test. We both got what we needed out of it, though. Anyways, here we are 13 years later and still best friends.”

“It must be great to have someone who knows you so well and for so long,” Kurt replied wistfully.

Blaine resisted the urge to give Kurt a big hug and just gave him a sympathetic smile as he settled into a chair to finish watching the movie.

Just as the finale song was finishing up, Blaine was surprised to see his mother entering the room, wearing a knee length fur coat and carrying a bright red rose in full bloom. “Mother, that is lovely, did the florist make a delivery today?”

“No,” Helen replied in a dazed voice. “Blaine, would you mind coming out into the flower garden for a moment?”

She turned around and was headed out of the room before Blaine could answer. He gave Kurt a puzzled look and a shrug before following her. The men grabbed their coats and headed around to the side of the house where the flower garden was located. As they rounded the hedge that separated it from the main backyard Blaine came to an abrupt stop. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The garden was always pale and slumbering in the winter, but not this time. All around him was a riot of color, with blooming roses poking out of the snow. Several members of the gardening staff were standing around with baffled looks on their faces, some taking pictures with their phones.

“The roses — all of the roses — are in bloom,” his mother called from a few feet away, stating the obvious. “It is unbelievable. The gardeners can’t explain it. Everything was normal yesterday and suddenly today they are in full bloom. It is astounding. Several members of the horticulture society are coming by later to take a look. I suspect they think I have been dipping into the wine a little too hard and am seeing things. We’ll show them though.”

Blaine made all of the correct noises at his mother, proclaiming his astonishment and taking a few photos of her next to some of the larger bushes. He could sense Kurt walking along behind him, but he remained silent. Blaine was afraid to look at him for fear that his expression would reveal more than he wanted his mother to know. They made their escape as soon as possible, leaving Helen with the gardeners to prepare for the upcoming onslaught of horticulturists. They walked quietly back to the house and hung up their coats without a word. Blaine walked into the living room and went straight to the back wall, where some decanters of alcohol were kept for pre-dinner drinks. He normally wasn’t much of drinker, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Kurt, would you like to explain to me why my mother is currently standing in a sea of roses blooming at least 4 months early?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I forgot that I did that.”

“You forgot?”

“Yesterday at breakfast Helen mentioned how much she missed flowers in her garden and I just wanted to make her happy, so I thought this would be a nice surprise to wake up to and roses are kind of my specialty. I forgot that I did it. I know we talked about me not using my powers and I’m sorry. This kind of thing is second nature to me.”

“Do you know how dangerous this is?” Blaine yelled, losing his temper. “We talked about this and you promised me!”

“Why are you yelling at me? I don’t understand why you are getting so upset about this. It is just some flowers,” Kurt shouted back.

“They are going to have experts here this afternoon to investigate! You can’t call attention to yourself like this.”

“Do you think this is easy for me? Not being allowed to give people the things they want? The things they need?” Kurt cried. “This is who I am, Blaine and I am trying, I really am, but I just can’t switch it off like you want me to. I know that times are changing and I need to change with them, but I see things that I don’t like or that I can make better and sometimes I can’t help myself. You wished that I would act like myself and you can’t just take it back now. I like who I am and I’m not going to let you tell me there is something wrong with that.” Kurt was really working himself up and was starting to lose control of his emotions. “You don’t know how often I hold myself back. Did you see what your mother was wearing just now? A fur coat! A fur coat, Blaine! You know how I feel about that. I saw it and I just wanted to make her see how wrong it was, but did I? No!”

It looked like a storm was brewing in Kurt’s eyes and Blaine took a step forward to try and calm him down, but saw that it was too late when a fur coat like the one his mother had been wearing appeared out of thin air.

“Do you want to see what I stopped myself from doing?” Kurt glared at the coat as it sank to the floor. Blaine watched in equal parts horror and fascination as the coat writhed about for a few seconds before transforming into a baby Lynx cat, which immediately began to making a mewing, crying noise. “Do you think she would continue to wear that coat if she was forced to meet the animal it was made out of?”

A gasp from the doorway sounded like a gunshot through the room. Both men looked up in shock to see Santana standing just inside the room, staring in disbelief at the Lynx sitting on the floor.

“What just happened? How...? There was a coat and then…then there wasn’t. And then a wild animal. What…?”

Kurt swung his head back to the Lynx, which immediately blinked out of existence, but the damage was done. He tried to say something, anything, but could only produce some inarticulate noises. He wanted to run, but found himself paralyzed, frozen in place.

Luckily, Blaine was able to recover quickly and ran over to pull Santana into the room, closing the door behind her. “Santana, let us explain.”

“Cat. There was a wild cat in your living room. And then it was gone. How can that be? Am I being punked?” Santana sunk into one of the side chairs, her legs no longer able to hold her up.

Blaine sat down beside her, glancing over to find Kurt still rooted to the same location. He reached over and grabbed Santana’s hands, bringing her attention back to him. “I need you to take a deep breath and listen to me. Are you listening?” At her nod he took a deep breath and began a halting explanation of how he had met Kurt and what he had learned about him. When he got to the part about Kurt being a genie Santana let out a disbelieving laugh. She turned to look at Kurt and her laugh died in her throat at the look of despair on his face. Blaine continued his story, filling her in on what had happened since they reached Chicago and explaining the event she had just witnessed.

Hearing Blaine explain about the flowers and the fur coat finally forced Kurt out of his paralysis and he rushed over, sinking to his knees in front of the two friends.

“I don’t know what happened! I don’t do that kind of thing. I mean, I have trouble curbing the use of my powers, but I don’t get angry and lose control like that. It just isn’t me.”

“Don't tell me, it was actually your evil identical cousin,” Santana bit out. When Kurt only looked perplexed she sighed in frustration, “What, you don't get _I Dream of Jeannie_ where you come from?”

“Santana, this is hard on all of us. Can you just be nice and reasonable for once?” Blaine pleaded.

“Reasonable? You bring a random stranger, who claims to be a magical being, into your home _just days after you meet him_ and you want to talk to me about being reasonable? What do you really know about this guy, Blaine? If he isn’t who he says he is you just started shacking up with a guy who isn’t just a sandwich short of a picnic, but is missing the hamper and lemonade also.”

Santana got up and started pacing around the room. “And, God! If he _is_ who he says he is, then what have you gotten us all into? He already said he isn’t always in control of his powers. What if we all wake up with a third eye or a tail? What if he makes your mother fall in love with a potted plant or something? Worse, what if he makes me think that I can actually stand Rachel and Finn? I don’t think I could take that, Blaine. How much has he told you about genies and how they operate? He is cute and all, but really what were you thinking? Or rather what were you thinking with?”

Blaine wanted to defend himself against Santana’s tirade, but he knew that she wasn’t all wrong. He just looked at her with a lost look on his face, mouth open, waiting for words to emerge from his brain.

When she saw that Blaine had nothing to offer at the moment, Santana harrumphed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, I just need to not be here right now. I am going to leave and have myself a drink or twenty. I suggest that you think really hard about this situation and how you can possibly see this working out.” She stormed out of the room and then the front door, leaving the two stunned men behind.

“She hates me,” Kurt whispered, tears glistening in his eyes. “Do you think she is going to tell anyone about me?”

“No, of course not. She is just shocked, that’s all. She’ll come around, you’ll see.”

“I try to be strong and not care what other people think of me, but it isn’t easy, is it? Why can’t I ever just fit in?”

“Hey, stop it. You’ll fit in. You will! We just need to work on some things. Once we get you caught up on what you have missed in the past 60 years and work a little on your impulse control issues no one will ever have a reason to doubt who you are or think you don’t belong.” Kurt looked slightly more hopeful at Blaine’s words, so he kept going. “Come on, let’s get started on those computer lessons we talked about earlier. You will want to get started on your anthology of musical theater and you won’t believe the amount of fashion available online. I might never see you again after you discover the wonders of the internet.”

Kurt gave a watery laugh and allowed Blaine to pull him up from the floor. They retreated to Blaine’s room, where Blaine pulled out his iPad and proceeded to tutor Kurt on how to use the device and how to locate all the information he was looking for on any subject that interested him. They sat together on the bed, reading about the newest celebrity antics and pouring over the latest fashions. After a while, Blaine opened up iTunes and started constructing a playlist of Broadway classics. As they listened, Kurt leaned up against him and laid his head on his shoulder, the tension from the morning slipping away as the music filled him.

An hour later, Blaine was just about to doze off when he heard the familiar strains of a favorite song coming across the speakers. “I haven’t heard this song in years. I remember seeing this show as a kid and thinking this was the best song in the whole production. That should have been my first clue that I was gay.”

“What song is this?” Kurt asked, watching as Blaine swung himself off the bed and began to dance around the room to the music.

Blaine stopped his dancing for a second and flashed Kurt a sly smile. “’Bring On the Men’ from Jekyll & Hyde.” He jumped up on his desk chair and began to sing along with the song at the top of his lungs, obviously reenacting some long ago seen choreography. “Join me…please?”

Kurt jumped off the bed as well and joined Blaine in a dance around the room, singing along on the chorus once he knew the words. They swung around the room at full speed, Blaine lifting Kurt up to stand on the bed, then swinging him down to waltz quickly to the window. By the end of the song, both men were out of breath and laughing from their efforts. They collapsed in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed, draped over each other. “I can’t believe we just did that,” Blaine puffed out between heavy breaths, “I feel like are taking part in some horrible, clichéd rom-com. I’m just glad no one was here to get than on tape.”

The sounds of Kurt’s giggles made the embarrassing performance worthwhile and Blaine laid his head back against the bed, enjoying the moment. After they had both recovered, he glanced over at Kurt, afraid to ruin the moment. “Hey, Santana was right about one thing, you know; I do need to get to know you better and learn more about what being a genie means. Can we just talk for a while?”

“Ah, you seek the knowledge of the ancient race of genies,” Kurt smiled, tensing up just a tiny bit. “Ask and you shall receive. Hmm… maybe it would be faster if I just gave you this.” Kurt grabbed a piece of paper out of the air and handed it to Blaine. He looked down and saw it was a pamphlet like you would get in a doctor’s office, with the title _Lightning in a Bottle: The care and feeding on your new genie_.

“Ha ha, very funny. Seriously though, I do have a few questions. And I’ll take a cue from your wonderful pamphlet here and ask about your samovar. Do all genies have them or do some have lamps or bottles like we see in the stories?’

“Samovars are the most common, but there are cases where something else is used. However, we are _never_ found in those clichéd lamps shown in the story books. How gauche.”

“Of course not, I’m sure genies have very high standards, especially if your clothes are anything to go by.”

Kurt preened a little, pleased by Blaine’s observation. “Well, there is an advantage to being around as long as I have been. You see a lot of trends come and go and it becomes easier to spot the ones that work.”

“Is it hard? Living so long? Always having to move on to the next person?” As soon as the question was out of his mouth Blaine regretted asking it.

Kurt’s expression closed up a little and he crossed his arms, rubbing his hands up and down them as if he was cold. “The constant changing of connection, having nothing permanent, was easier when connections were more frequent. I don’t often become emotionally attached to my connections — you have been told I can be a little standoffish — but genies were more common then and I was able to see my friends often. We interacted more with the world and I felt like I fulfilled my purpose so easily. I made people’s lives better. Now with the longs gaps between connections I feel untethered and lost. I don’t know where my friends are or if they even exist any longer. And as for making people’s lives better, well, I seem to be more of a burden than a help lately. Making people happy and helping them through the challenges in their lives is what I am here for and without that I think I am losing myself.” Kurt stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the backyard, tracing his fingers across the glass. “When I see how much people have access to through computers,” he gestured towards the tablet sitting on the bed, “I can understand why people don't need to believe in magic. You just have so much at your fingertips. There is just no need for me any longer. I wonder how long it will be before there is no one left who will believe and genies will just disappear. Stuck in limbo forever, waiting for the next connection that never comes.”

Blaine wanted to reach over and pull Kurt into his arms to offer comfort and support, but he had noticed that the genie wasn’t totally comfortable with a lot of physical contact, so he settled for placing a comforting hand on his back and rubbing slightly. He realized that he hadn’t given much thought to how asking Kurt not to use his powers would affect him. He wanted nothing more than for Kurt to feel useful and to know he was helping make people happy. They were just going to have to find a way to do it that didn’t leave them feeling as if there were balanced on the edge of disaster. They continued to embrace for a few minutes, Kurt resting with his head on Blaine’s shoulder. Finally, Kurt pulled away and turned back to the window, looking embarrassed that he had revealed so much.

Blaine noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to find Santana standing in the doorway, watching them with a strange expression. It was obvious that she had been standing there a while and had heard most, if not all, of what Kurt had been saying. Kurt hadn‘t yet seen her, so Blaine pretended to get a phone call and slipped out into the hall to answer it.

Santana was waiting for him, leaning up against the opposite wall, a large bag in her hands. “You know that nothing about this situation is going to be easy, right? Is this really the best time to be having to deal with something like this, what with the company and all? You can barely hold Quinn off as it is. If she were to learn about this you would be so screwed. She would blackmail you into marrying her so fast your little supernatural sex toy there wouldn’t know what hit him.”

“I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I can’t ask him to leave. I won’t do that to him…or to me. It isn’t obligation or a sense of duty. I…I just need him and he needs me too. I can’t explain it. It just is.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that. Well, luckily for you I am here once again to pull your butt out of the fire. Stand aside Richie Rich and let Santana work her magic.” Blaine just stood there gaping at her. “No seriously, go away. I want to talk to Animal Crusader Barbie alone.”

Blaine reluctantly made his way down the hallway, looking back every few seconds to find Santana still shooing him away with her hands. Once he had turned the corner she took a deep breath and opened the door to the bedroom. Kurt was sitting on the bed, listening to music playing from a tablet computer. He looked up as Santana entered the room, nearly dropping the device in his surprise at seeing her.

“So, I hear that you are a little out of touch with anything that happened since the Eisenhower administration. Well, don’t worry. I am here to save the day. We are going to first bring you up-to-speed on a little pop culture,” she held up a bag containing DVDs of _Aladdin_ and all five seasons of _I Dream of Jeannie._ “Then we are going to talk about what you want to do with your life. Blaine will be heading back to work soon and you will need something to occupy yourself, so you, my dear genie, are going to get a job.

 “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this for me?”

“I would go anything for Blaine and he believes in you, so I guess I am stuck with you too now. Watch out, genie boy, you ain’t never had a friend like me.”


	9. Chapter 9

The next several days passed quickly, with Santana on a one-woman mission to make Kurt a functioning member of modern society. She arrived at the Anderson home early each morning with a ‘to do’ list and spent the day cracking the whip to make sure that Kurt was keeping on task, declaring that Blaine was too soft-hearted to be the slave driver that the situation required. She gave Kurt homework covering modern history, politics, and pop culture and he spent hours each day scouring the internet for the answers. Once she found out that he had speed reading capabilities she assigned Blaine the task of getting a reading list together of the modern novels he should read. It was only in the evenings that she loosened the reigns and allowed some spontaneity and fun in to the agenda. Each night the three of them holed themselves up in the theater, watching her self-declared list of must-see movies and the DVDs she had brought to Kurt on the first day.

Kurt now knew who Santana was referring to when she called him ‘Legolas’ and had to admit he didn’t mind the comparison at all. He thoroughly enjoyed _Aladdin_ and laughed when Blaine gave thanks that Kurt hadn’t come out of the samovar all blue and legless. Now they were in the middle of a marathon of the second season of _I Dream of Jeannie_ and he couldn’t help but groan at the hijinks unfolding on the screen.

“Is this what people think of genies now? If so, I completely understand why you didn’t want to bring me to Chicago. How could anyone stand to live with all of the trouble she causes?” When he didn’t get a response, Kurt looked away from the screen to find Blaine and Santana each biting their lips, trying desperately to keep a straight face. “Oh god, I’m Jeannie, aren’t I? I’m the ditzy, uncontrollable genie who comes into your life and ruins it with slapstick misunderstandings and mischief, aren’t I?”

The other two lost their fight to control their laughter and were soon snickering into their popcorn.

“Kind of,” Blaine gasped, “but just like Tony we don’t really mind because we lov…enjoy having you around.”

“Do you suppose I can sue them for profiting off of my life story?” Kurt giggled, glad that Blaine and Santana could find the humor in the situation.

Several more minutes passed as they all returned their attention to the big screen. As the episode they were finished watching and they waited for the next one to begin, Blaine sat forward in his chair and looked towards Kurt with an impish look on his face. “Kurt, what do I have to do to get you to wear an outfit like that?”

Kurt dissolved into full-fledged laughter and Blaine soon joined him. Santana just looked on with a smirk on her face. “Wanky.”

******

Santana had allowed Kurt the weekend to soak up as much information as he could, but it was now Monday morning and Blaine was headed back to work, so it was time for Kurt to start his job hunt. He and Blaine had spent Saturday discussing various occupations and talking about what Kurt might want to do. He decided that he would like to look for a job where he would be able to interact with people, so they decided to focus on retail jobs. Blaine suggested that he might want to look into a job in one of the up-scale department stores or a clothing boutique, since Kurt showed such an affinity for fashion.

They had decided to keep the job hunt a secret from Helen and Rachel for now, as it would be hard to explain that Peter’s ghost writer was looking for another job, so Santana, who didn’t have any modeling jobs scheduled for the next week, volunteered to take Kurt around the city for his interviews.

To both of their surprise, Kurt was hired after his first interview, having impressed the hiring manager with his knowledge of current and vintage fashion and he started bright and early the next morning as a personal stylist in an exclusive downtown department store.

At first, Kurt found the job a great fit. He was working in the high-end designer department and he loved immersing himself in Versace, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs. He enjoyed meeting the different people and getting to know them in order to recommend the best fashion choices to them. And best of all, his customer loved him. After only three days on the job he already had repeat customers who were spending more with him than with any of the other stylists in the store. He was gentle with his opinions and tried really hard not to be judgmental when clients went against his advice with their purchases. His uncanny ability to find styles that looked the best on each body type had customers arriving at the store asking for him by name after hearing about him from their friends.

One of his favorite clients was a local high school wrestling coach who was being honored for promoting gender equality in sports by a Presidential program in Washington, D.C. She had come to Kurt after searching fruitlessly all over Chicago for a beautiful formal gown that would complement her admittedly plus-size figure. Kurt had been determined to find the woman, Lauren, a gown that made her feel as special as she deserved to on her big night. It wasn’t easy, given the short-sightedness of most designers when it came to creating garments for anyone above a size 6, but he finally found the dress he was looking for. The look on her face when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time was something that was going to stick with him for a long time.

Unfortunately, part of what was making him popular with customers was his honesty in telling them when an outfit didn’t look good on them. He was unwilling to comprise his integrity, and that of the designer, by convincing a customer to buy something that didn’t flatter them completely. The first time he was brought into his manager’s office was when the man heard Kurt telling his 3 o’clock appointment that a $3,000 Nina Ricci dress looked better on her than a $25,000 Versace gown that she was ready to buy. The manager lectured him on how the store was there to make money and that they shouldn’t be talking customers out of buying expensive gowns that they love. Kurt listened politely and nodded his understanding and then went right back to giving his clients the best advice as he saw fit. Despite his dissatisfaction with this aspect of Kurt’s work, the manager was reluctant to make a bigger deal of the issue since Kurt’s sales were still so high.

The best part of the job to Kurt was that he was able to do it, and do it well, without using his powers. He was getting the same satisfaction he usually got from granting wishes simply by allowing his clients to feel beautiful for the important events of their lives. Each night he went home to Blaine and regaled him with funny stories about his day, telling him about Mrs. Capley’s upcoming anniversary, Mr. Kennedy’s benefit dinner or Ms. Baxter’s engagement party.

On his tenth day on the job, Kurt appeared for his 11 o’clock appointment and found a nervous young man waiting for him. Kurt felt an instant kinship with the man, who looked enough like Kurt to be a cousin, if not a brother. The man introduced himself as Rory Flanagan and Kurt was enchanted by his lilting Irish accent. Rory was about to meet his fiancé’s parents for the first time and needed to get a suit for the occasion. The parents were well off, so he wanted to get a nice suit, one that would make the best initial impression possible, but he didn’t have much money.

After trying several of the less expensive suits in the department to no avail, a stunning Dolce & Gabbana suit caught Rory’s eye. Kurt was reluctant to have him try it on, as he knew the garment was going to be out of his price range, but he relented at the enamored look in Rory’s eye. As soon as Rory came out of the dressing room wearing the suit Kurt knew that they had found the right one.

Kurt was tempted to use his powers to solve the problem, but he wanted to prove to Blaine that he could be successful without resorting to magic, so he racked his brain for another solution. Looking at the suit, he realized that he had seen a very similar one in the window of a local suit maker down the street. He took Rory aside and told him of the store and how they were masters at recreating designer suits for a fraction of the cost. Thrilled at the advice, Rory left to make an appointment at the other store. Kurt watched him go with a smile, but as he turned to move on to his next appointment he found Mr. Kimble, his manager, standing behind him with an angry look on his face.

“Mr. Hummel, I’d like to see you in my office.”

“Of course. I have another appointment now, so can I meet with you at —”

“I’d like to speak now, please. You can reassign your next appointment to another stylist.”

Kurt found another consultant to take his appointment and then hurried to Mr. Kimble’s office, finding him sitting rigidly behind his desk. “Kurt, you’ve become one of our best stylists in only a matter of days, but I have to say I am incredibly disappointed with you right now. Did I just hear you recommend to a client that they go to another establishment to order a knock-off?” the man shivered in distaste.

 “He couldn’t afford our prices and he really needed that suit. I did what was best for the customer.”

“If he couldn’t afford our prices then he shouldn’t have been in our store to begin with. It’s not our job to act as free style consultants to the unwashed masses.”

“Fashion is about self-expression and art. It shouldn’t be limited to just the wealthy.”

“Fashion isn’t limited to the wealthy, but our services are. In the future, you will refrain from making recommendations of any kind that cost this store business. Is that understood?”

“Mr. Kimble, I can see why you feel the way you do, but I’m afraid I just can’t work that way. I think it’s best if I just collect my things and let you find another stylist who’s more willing to walk the company line.”

Mr. Kimble began to sputter, horrified that his number one consultant was heading out the door, but Kurt wasn’t interested in staying. With a dramatic spin on his heel that he would never admit he learned from Rachel Berry, he stormed from the office, gathered his things, and left the building.

When Blaine returned home that night he found Kurt nestled away in his favorite spot in the conservatory, filling yet more pages of his notebook with clothing designs.

“How was work today, dear?” he joked, sitting next to Kurt on the lounge.

“Ah yes, work. About that… would you be very disappointed in me if I told you that I quit?” He filled Blaine in on the happenings of the day and his lecture from Mr. Kimble. “You don’t think I’m a failure, do you?”

“Absolutely not! You stuck to your principles and stood up for what you believe in. I admire you so much for that. This wasn’t the right fit for you, so what? That’s what life is about, trying things on for size and seeing if they fit, if you’ll pardon the fashion metaphor.” Blaine reached over to grab Kurt’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “You’ll find your perfect fit. I know you will.”

******

Santana had a modeling assignment the rest of the week, so Kurt did some job searching on his own for the next few days. He had several interviews, but nothing spoke to him and he actually turned down two positions. He was getting a little discouraged when he met up with Santana for lunch during a break in her photo shoot.

They were in the middle of brainstorming new ideas when she paused. “So, you’re old as dirt, right? And you’re gay, so you must know about decorating and knick-knacks and crap like that, right?”

Kurt rolled his eyes and shot her a death stare. “Do you have a point, Santana?”

She gave him a smug look and pointed across the street to a cozy antique store. The display windows were filled with wonderful pieces of furniture that Kurt recognized as being Queen Anne, Victorian, and Pennsylvania Dutch. The shelves were filled with Depression Glass and crystal candlesticks and in the back of one display he could see pieces of vintage clothing. Best of all, there was a ‘help wanted’ sign in one window.

Santana raised her hand to get the waiter’s attention and quickly paid their bill. She grabbed Kurt by the hand and dragged him across the street, not even waiting for the light to change. As they approached the front door she reached up and straightened his tie. “Go get ‘em Twinkle Toes. I’ve gotta head back to the photo shoot now. Group shots are next and I just love showing all those skinny bitches who’s boss.”

Kurt watched her leave, then took a deep breath before opening the door and going in. Right away he could see the potential in the shop. It had a wide range of inventory and was laid out nicely, though he could definitely see room for improvement.

As he looked around he could hear a voice from the back, singing along with the music playing, which was an R&B song that Kurt didn’t recognize. He wound his way through the aisles towards the voice and came across a man about Blaine’s age. The man was wearing a short-sleeved button-down shirt, sweater vest and glasses and was attempting to dust a high self from his wheelchair while raising one hand up in a ‘praise’ gesture as he performed a series of musical runs. Kurt cleared his throat to get the man’s attention and was amused, when he just held up one finger to indicate that Kurt should wait a moment while he finished the song.

When the music had finished, the man rolled over to Kurt and held out his hand. “I can’t pause in the middle of Stevie Wonder, it just wouldn’t be right. Hi, I’m Artie Abrams, the proprietor of this fine establishment. What can I do for you today?”

Kurt shook the man’s hand with only somewhat feigned confidence. “Hello, I’m Kurt Hummel and I’ll be interviewing for the position of sales associate.”

Kurt could tell Artie was a little taken aback at his straightforwardness, but he recovered quickly and agreed to interview Kurt for the open position. Luckily, the two found a lot in common, from music, to theater and finally, to the most important subject, antiques. Artie quizzed Kurt on many of the items in the store, asking him about their era, having him rate their condition, and give value estimates. When Kurt passed the test with flying colors he was offered the job, especially after Artie saw that he had personal references from the famous Anderson family.

Artie Abrams had owned A Stitch in Time Antiques for 3 years, having inherited it from his grandfather. Owning a shop wasn’t exactly what he had envisioned for his life, but he made up for it by also acting as director of a local independent theater company, which was his one of his passions, along with music. Any time the store was empty of customers Artie would turn up the sound system and dance around the building in his wheelchair. During these periods Kurt noticed that Artie often spoke with a slightly different accent and used words that Kurt wasn’t familiar with like 'bling’ and ‘bros’, but overall he found Artie to be a great boss.

Kurt’s first official duty was to help Artie with an inventory of the store. As he sorted through and cataloged the items on the shelves he discreetly rearranged them, making different displays by color, theme, or era to better show the antiques off. He felt a little nostalgic looking at some of the objects, for they reminded him of past connections; A perfume bottle that reminded him of France in the 1800s; A pair of button-up ankle boots from the 1920s; A painting showing a medieval castle somewhere in the British countryside.

As he performed his inventory he put aside a few items that he wanted to call to Artie’s attention at the end of the day. A few were priced as genuine antiques when he had a strong suspicion that they were more modern copies, but several were actually severely underpriced for what they were. When Artie heard about the pricing mistakes he just held out his hand, curled up into a fist, to Kurt, leaving it hanging in mid-air, obviously waiting for something. Kurt hesitated for a second before holding his fist up in kind and was shocked when Artie moved to bump their fists together. OK, that was new.

On his fifth day on the job, Kurt arrived to find Artie in the little back office, rapping along with the music blasting through the store. Kurt had to admit that rap was the one type of modern music he was still mostly uninformed about. It just wasn’t a sound that he enjoyed and the themes of much of the music made him uncomfortable. Artie seemed to have no such reservations, nodding his head and making strange movements with his hands and arms to the music. Kurt returned to the front of the store, leaving Artie to finish his morning concert in private.

Nervously, he took out a set of papers from his messenger bag. While he had been performing the inventory he had found himself getting several flashes of inspiration for changes that could be made to the layout and decoration of the store. After dinner each night that week he and Blaine had retired to the library, Blaine sitting at the desk to do some work and Kurt spreading out on the comfy leather sofa to do some sketching. On the second night, he found himself working on some drawings and descriptions of his ideas. When Blaine saw the plans he was impressed and urged Kurt to show the plans to Artie, so Kurt spent the rest of the week working on a proposal, but found the work went slowly at times due to the long periods where he found himself just gazing at Blaine. Now the plans were finished and he was ready to present them to Artie. He didn’t have high hopes, since he knew money was a little tight, but he wanted to give Artie something for being such a great boss. They still had half an hour left before the store was due to open when Kurt gathered the courage to bring the subject up. He went over the ideas at a high level first, telling Artie of his overall vision before going into details and showing his sketches of what the finished product would look like.

Artie listened to the proposal intently, asking a few questions here and there. “Dang, Kurt! You put a lot of work into that,” he exclaimed as he spun his wheelchair around in a circle then angled it back slightly. “I appreciate all of this, but I can’t really afford these kind of changes right now. I’m kind of barely keeping the place afloat as it is and honestly, I’m not sure how much more I would want to put into this place. It’s kind of just something to keep me occupied until my directing career really takes off.”

Kurt was a bit disappointed that Artie didn’t jump at the chance to start implementing his ideas, but he told him he understood and asked him to keep the designs, just in case he changed his mind.

Later that day, Kurt was unpacking some new inventory for the store when he came upon an amazing discovery. Wrapped up at the bottom of the box was a pair of Sai swords, the likes of which he hadn’t seen in over 150 years. He picked them up, marveling at how comfortable and familiar they felt in his hands. He had learned from the hands of a master, once upon a connection, and was itching to see if he still had the moves.

“Woah! Man, you’re armed and dangerous,” Artie smiled as he came around the corner, finding Kurt beginning to lightly twirl the swords. “Do you know how to use those bad boys?”

“It’s been a while, but I think I still remember.” Kurt stepped back away from the desk into the center of the room. “Watch out, I may be a little rusty.”

Kurt picked up the speed with which he was twirling the swords then began alternating the twirling with tossing the swords into the air and catching them before twisting his arms back and forth. He got more and more confident in his actions, swaying his body back and forth and adding a small kick every so often. Then disaster struck as Artie wheeled forward a bit to get a better view, forcing Kurt to take a step backward for safety. His step took him a little too close to one of the store displays and the tip of one of the swords just barely caught the lace tablecloth that lay under a row of crystal candlesticks. As he brought the sword forward the lace followed, pulling the candlesticks from the shelf. The noise of the glass shattering on the cement floor startled Kurt, who turned swiftly, whipping the swords before him in an unconscious movement. His right hand sword sliced through the neck of a clothing display dummy, sending the head flying. He watched in horror as the head flew directly into a shelf of delicate jade vases, which disintegrated upon contact. The head then ricocheted into a display case and smashed through the glass front to crack the faces of several porcelain dolls resting there. The unsteady case then tipped backward, crashing down upon a set of vintage toys that had been laid out on the floor. The whole chain reaction took only a second, but left much of the store in shambles.

 “No. Oh no!” Kurt gasped in disbelief. He whirled around to face Artie, who was gazing in shock upon his ruined store. “I can fix it, please let me fix it.”

Artie just continued to gape at the destruction, unable to respond to his plea. Kurt survey the damage, trying to figure out where he would begin his repairs, his senses already tingling as he prepared to use his powers, when he heard Blaine’s voice in his head. He couldn’t fix this. There was no way he could explain it to Artie, even if he made the repairs late at night while he was gone. Some of those pieces had been one-of-a-kind and Artie would know something was wrong if items he had seen destroyed suddenly appeared whole in the store again. He couldn’t risk that kind of exposure. Who knew what Artie would do? He seemed like a nice man, but then a lot of bad people seemed that way at first. He had been lucky with Santana, but what were the odds the next person who found out about him would keep his secret quiet? He couldn’t do that to Blaine or the rest of the Andersons. They had been too kind to him.

His only option was to leave the damage as is. Artie would forgive him, but Kurt wasn’t sure if he would forgive himself. If Artie claimed the damage on his insurance his premiums would skyrocket and as he had said earlier, he was barely keeping the store afloat as it was. He needed someone more cautious and less impulsive in the store, not someone who performed spontaneous ninja skill demonstrations right next to breakable objects.

He expressed his regrets to Artie and began to clean up the mess, but they both knew that this would be Kurt’s last day in the shop.

As he left the store that night, Kurt turned to walk down the block, stopping once he had reached a Post Office box on the corner. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking then reached into his previously empty pocket to pull out a simple white envelope. As he concentrated, the address of the little antique shop appeared on the front, the senders address left blank. He took another quick look around the street before adding a large stack of 100 dollar bills to the envelope. Would that be enough to cover the damage? He pictured the destroyed items in his mind and did a quick tally of their values then doubled the stack of cash. He sealed the envelope and was about to drop it in the box when he glanced back at the store. Artie had wheeled himself out to the doorstep and was giving Kurt a sad wave goodbye. Kurt smiled and gave a wave back. He glanced at the envelope and watched as it plumped up to twice its thickness as more cash appeared inside. Finally satisfied, Kurt let the envelope go and heard it hit the bottom of the container. Artie would be able to replace the damaged items and might even be able to make some of Kurt’s recommended improvements now. He gathered his coat close to his body and set off down the street. It was time to head home.

After an uncomfortable dinner that included Rachel, Quinn, and Helen, Kurt once again ended up in the library, watching as Blaine typed on his laptop. He was reluctant to tell Blaine that he had left yet another job, this time after only a week, but knew he couldn’t keep it a secret. Complete honesty, right?

Blaine’s reaction was not quite what he had expected.

“I can just picture your expression when that dummy’s head went flying,” Blaine snorted, laughing a bit at Kurt’s expense. “I wish I had been there to see that. Hey! Maybe you can get a job creating a Rube Goldberg type exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. You seem to have talent for setting up chain reactions.”

Kurt sunk a bit in his chair, understanding Blaine’s amusement, but still not ready to see the humor in the situation himself. “It’s just humiliating. A week! I only lasted a week!”

“Hey,” Blaine soothed, sobering up when he realized Kurt was taking the situation harder than expected. “Don’t get discouraged. We’ll figure something out. I believe in you and we all know I am never wrong.”

This finally brought a smile to Kurt’s face and they settled in front of the fire to talk about what his next step might be.

The next morning Kurt found himself alone in the house. Everyone was off at work or meetings, but Kurt had decided to delay his job hunt a day to try and get in a better mindset. The weather outside was nice, so he decided to take a walk. He put on his coat and was heading down the driveway towards the main gate when he heard the sound of a revving car engine from the garage. He changed direction, heading towards the familiar sound. Once in the garage he stopped in amazement. His eyes bounced right over the 5 luxury cars nestled into their parking spaces and locked in right away on the 1940 Rolls-Royce Phantom III parked in the back corner. The red and black classic car called to him and he walked slowly over to it, taking in its sleek lines and listening to the sound of the engine, which was hiccupping just a bit. A man was standing next to the car, looking down at the engine with a perplexed expression, obviously in the middle of giving a tune-up.

“Excuse me,” Kurt approached the car and made a gesture towards the toolbox. “If I may…?”

 The man gave Kurt a considering look then gave a nod, causing his blond hair to flop down slightly into his eyes.

Kurt pulled a wrench from the box and moved over to the car. He reached into the engine and made a slight adjustment, listening to the engine until it purred. “You almost had it. That last adjustment is the trickiest to get right.”

“Awesome, thanks! You must be Kurt. I’ve seen you a few times, but we haven’t had a chance to officially meet yet. I’m Sam, mechanic, part-time chauffer and jack-of-all-trades.” He held out a hand to Kurt, but began to draw it back when he saw the grease on it.

Kurt didn’t give him a chance to retreat, but stepped forward and grasped the dirty hand. “Yes, Kurt Hummel. Nice to meet you. That’s a glorious car. I can’t believe you have it running so good. It sounds better than it did new.”

“How do you know so much about Phantoms?” Sam asked, pulling a cloth from a nearby drawer to wipe his hands on. Kurt took the opportunity to get a closer look at the vehicle, running his hand along the side, but never actually touching the paint, afraid of smudging the perfect shine.

“I used to know a mechanic who worked on one of these every once and a while. He loved Phantoms so much it was almost an obsession.”

“The Andersons have a lot of great cars, but I have to admit that this one is kind of my favorite. I’m a big movie buff and Phantoms are one of the go-to period cars, you know? Every time I work on it I can’t help but picture myself in _The Rocketeer_ or one of the James Bond films. I don’t know, I guess I kind of feel important because I take care of it? You know…with great power comes great responsibility.” Sam said the last bit in a slight deeper voice and Kurt looked up at him with a questioning look. “The line from _Spiderman_?”

“Sorry, haven’t seen that one.”

“Never mind. People don’t know what I am talking about half the time anyway. I’m used to it.”

“Well, I’d better leave you to your work,” Kurt gave one last longing look at the car before pulling his scarf a little closer. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. Have a great day.”

Kurt was half way back to the garage door when Sam called out to him “Hey, know anything about 1950s Corvettes? I was just about to crack this baby open for a look. Feel like getting your hands a little dirty?”

Kurt looked back to see Sam pulling the cover off a cherry red car with white coves and gleaming chrome and he felt another jolt of nostalgia. “I thought you’d never ask!”


	10. Chapter 10

The next Monday morning dawned cloudy with a threat of snow, but Kurt didn’t let that dampen his excitement for the day ahead. Santana had approached him the night before with a job she though was perfect for him. She had discovered that there was an opening at her modeling agency and had somehow gotten him the job. She didn’t give him a chance to comment one way or the other, just told him she would be by to pick him up bright and early in the morning.

He woke up extra early in order to select an outfit for this first day. He must convey professionalism, but be fashionable enough to garner respect from people who were so often exposed to the top levels of the fashion industry. This was probably not the time to wear an original design — designer names would impress more. Luckily, he had been making bookmarks on his tablet for the looks he was most drawn to, so it was quick work to find an Armani jacket from the fall 2012 line that suited his needs perfectly. He stood in front of the mirror, looking critically at the blue wool jacket that fastened off-center on the right with slightly oversized buttons. The jacket itself was pretty basic — it was the neckline that really added drama to the garment. The neck was an asymmetrical cowl, with the left side standing up to show the blue wool and the right side spilling down and out to reveal a blue satin lining. It was understated, yet intricate and hopefully just the right note to hit on his first day. He finished off the outfit with some tailored black trousers and blue suede boots that matched the jacket, then added a black Marc Jacobs messenger bag.

Finally happy with his appearance he headed down to breakfast. Helen was not up yet, but Blaine and Rachel were already at the table. Rachel had just come from her morning workout and was still glowing from the exercise. Kurt had to admit that it made the young woman look very pretty. Now if only something could be done about her sour expression. She had spent the last few weeks baffled at the seemingly instant and deep friendship that had sprung up between Kurt, Blaine, and Santana. Every time the other woman had come over to the house to meet with Kurt, Rachel’s expression had gotten more and more pinched. Kurt knew that she was feeling excluded from their group, but they hadn’t dared to invite her to join in on any of their movie nights, as they often detoured into genie oriented discussions. The current situation was just reinforcing her belief that Kurt was going to somehow take Blaine away from her, so he knew that they need to find a solution, the sooner the better.

As he moved over to sit at the table, Blaine looked up from the newspaper and gave Kurt a thorough look from head-to-toe. “Wow, Kurt! Looking good. You’ve got an excellent military meets elegant country gentleman thing going on. What’s the occasion?”

“Santana got me a job at her modeling agency,” Kurt happily exclaimed, “I start today. She should be here to pick me up in a few minutes.”

Blaine looked a little uneasy at his announcement. “Do you think you’re ready for that? What if…” he glanced over at Rachel, who was looking at Kurt with a flabbergasted expression. “I mean, I know you want to make some extra money, but do you have time to take on another job in addition to working on Peter’s memoirs?”

“Santana got you a job at her agency?” Rachel interrupted in disbelief. “The Santana you only met less than a month ago? The same Santana who refuses to take 5 minutes to introduce me to the producer of the commercial she was in last month?”

“The difference is that I can actually stand being a room with him for more than 3 minutes, so I don’t mind doing favors for him.” Santana swept into the room, throwing herself down on one of the empty chairs. “Now, don’t you have to go catch up with Sneezy or Dopey or one of your other dwarf friends? The adults want to talk alone for a minute.”

Rachel threw her napkin down and placed both hands flat on the table to help push herself into a standing position. She speared Santana with a venomous glare, then spun on her heal and stormed dramatically out of the room.

Santana acted as if nothing had happened, reaching over to sneak a piece of bacon off of Blaine’s plate. “So, who’s ready to get their work on?”

******

It only took 25 minutes before Santana was pulling her car into the parking garage at work. She had taken that time to give Kurt a high level overview of his job, which would involve acting as one of the assistants for the owner of the agency. She warned him that the job wouldn’t be easy, since the big boss was known for being extremely hard on employees and tended to go through assistants like Kleenex.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do fine. If nothing else, I’m sure it will be entertaining for the rest of us to watch. I also can’t wait until the others at the office get a look at you. It’ll be just like watching them drool over the pastries in the cafeteria that they don’t allow themselves to eat. Don’t tell Blaine, but it might have been the picturing their reactions that led me to the idea of getting you a job here in the first place. I can’t wait to see those bitches eat their hearts out.” She threaded her arm through his and led him to the elevator and up to the 25th floor.

Santana had been right about the reaction of the other employees of the agency. From the second Kurt got off of the elevator he felt like he was a bone being dangled in front of a pack of very hungry dogs. Within 5 minutes he had been inappropriately propositioned by two women and one man and had had his rear end pinched by an unknown party. He breathed a sigh of relief when Santana finally got him to the office of the chief assistant who was to be his manager.

“Tina, I have your fresh meat for you,” Santana smile wickedly at Kurt as she motioned him into the office before disappearing with a wave.

A lovely Asian woman with blue and pink stripes in her hair stood up, smiling at Kurt and making him feel instantly at ease. “Hi, you must be Kurt. I’m Tina Cohen-Chang. It’s nice to meet you. I hope you like it here. Or at least don’t run away screaming in the first 10 minutes.”

Tina proceeded to walk him through what his basic duties would be and how she would be spending the rest of the day trying to get him up to speed. The first order of the day was the morning team meeting, where the various department heads gave the management staff an update on the working being done that day.

“Are you ready to meet the boss?” she asked, leading him past the kitchen towards the conference room.

Kurt felt his eyes grow big as they neared the door. He could hear the sounds of raised voices seeping through the walls and could almost smell the fear of the people inside. Suddenly he wondered if this was really such a good idea. Maybe he should just give up on the idea of finding a job and return home and wait for Blaine to get off of work. That had worked with all of his past connections. He had never attempted to find a job before. What was he thinking? Tina opened the door and muted yelling became a clear, understandable roar.

“You think this is hard? Try modeling a swimsuit in the middle of the Amazon River while piranhas are nibbling at your toes. That’s hard.”

******

Kurt’s first day on the job had been quite the experience. Sue Sylvester, the owner of Outstanding Models, had proven to be just as challenging a personality as Santana has described. Kurt had watched in horror as she belittled and threatened the employees unlucky enough to be in the morning team meeting. He was sure that at any moment someone would point out how wildly inappropriate she was being, but no one ever did. After everyone had finally escaped from the meeting Tina had shown him around the office, introducing him to most of his new co-workers and filling him in on how the agency worked. They got along very well and she invited him to lunch to meet her boyfriend Mike, who was a dancer and part-time model for the agency.

Kurt’s second day started off bright and early with a model candidate review, where Sue met with the model scouts to evaluate the new girls and guys who were looking to be represented by the agency. Tina was taking notes for the meeting and Kurt was asked to bring each candidate into the room to be evaluated. Sue arrived last, holding a personal shake blender, and threw herself into the chair at the end of the table.

“Tony, let’s get this show on the road,” she barked, looking at Tina.

“I think we have a great batch of candidates to review today,” the soft-spoken assistant replied.

“Delicious. Spectacular. My buttocks are clenching in sweet anticipation.” She hit the button on the blender, setting it to whir loudly for a few seconds. Tina gave Kurt a nod to bring in the first potential model. The next hour was not a pleasant one and Kurt couldn’t help but cringe with every comment out of Sue’s mouth.

“There is so much silicone in that chest she could be used as a floatation device for an entire football team. Next.” *Whir*

“Her lips are so big Angelina Jolie is in the corner crying due to her feelings of inadequacy. No!” *Whir*

“There isn’t enough wax in the world. Get him out of my building.” *Whir*

“She should be eating cottage cheese instead of wearing it on her thighs. Tell her to call us when she has lost 40 pounds or has wisely given up on a modeling career and is looking for her first receptionist position. Whichever comes first.”

Each comment Sue had made throughout the meeting had pushed Kurt closer and closer to the edge and with the last one he toppled off. As Sue pressed down on the blender power button to give her drink a stir the container broke apart, sending the cayenne pepper laced protein drink inside exploding all over her face. The room was silent as everyone took in the sight of Sue’s shocked face dripping with congealing shake.

“Tennille! Help me clean this mess off!” Sue stormed from the room, Tina following her with a handful of napkins.

Kurt briefly felt guilty over what he had done, but the feeling disappeared with the quiet burst of laughter that filled the room as soon as the door closed. The general sentiment seemed to be that the incident was well deserved and they all enjoyed the moment of shared schadenfreude. After several minutes Sue and Tina returned, the older woman looking only slightly the worse for wear for her misfortune.

“What’re you all just sitting around for? Let’s get this finished. I have a lunch meeting with Leonardo DeCaprio. He’s going to spend the hour begging me co-start in his next movie again and I don’t want to be late.”

 They saw several more applicants, Sue’s comments still harsh, but a shade less disrespectful, before she called a halt to the meeting.

“I don’t understand the lack of quality I am seeing here, minions. Every day I arrive and the line of people looking to be represented by my agency is stretching down the block. I have to call the Chief of Police at least once a week to get him to assign a squadron to us for crowd control. With all of those people willing to sell their souls to work here how on earth can these be the best we can come up with?” She glared at the people around the table as if blaming each and every one of them for the physical defects of the people waiting outside. She passed over Kurt quickly, then did a double take, returning to spear him with her laser like gaze. “Now this is what I am talking about! Look at that skin, that hair, those eyes, that body! This is what we need around here. Why is he sitting here? He should be out working already. Why isn’t he on a photo shoot right now?”

Tina cleared her throat lightly before getting up the nerve to correct her. “Actually Sue, Kurt is your new assistant, not a model.”

“What? Why would he want to waste his time slumming it with you people? I can make him a star. Tara, get him a contract.”

Tina took a step towards the door before Kurt’s voice stopped her. “Ms. Sylvester, I’m…flattered, but I’m really not interested in being a model. I much prefer being on this side of things.”

Sue made a noise of disgust. “Nonsense. I give you one week before you are begging me to get you the fame and riches you so obviously deserve. Ah, sweet Porcelain, the money you and I will make together.” Sue stood up, calling the meeting to an abrupt end now that her plans had been foiled. “Back to work, all of you. I can smell the carbs and sugar leeching from your skin and it is frankly making me a little bit nauseous.”

Tina just looked at Kurt with a shrug as if to indicate that nothing that had just transpired was that unusual. This job was definitely doing to be an experience.

******

Blaine had always been happy to get back home after a long day at work, but the lure of home seemed even greater now that Kurt was there. Helen and Rachel lived busy lives and were, more often than not, out in the evenings, so the cozy nights spent in front of the fireplace in the library had become a special thing for just the two of them; Blaine doing some left over work or reading a book and Kurt doing research or watching yet another musical on his tablet. He felt a strange sense of comfort and familiarity, as if his nights had always been spent like this, even though they had known each other for only a month.

He glanced over at Kurt, who was intently reading something on the tablet, and felt a pulling in his heart that he chose not to examine too closely. He forced himself to pick up his book again, but couldn’t focus his attention, as his eyes kept returning to Kurt over and over. He had long since memorized the features of Kurt’s face, but here in the firelight new angles and planes came to life. The slight dimple next to his mouth that came out with a truly genuine smile, the arch of his eyebrow when he was feeling especially perturbed. Sometimes Blaine thought that he could look at Kurt forever and still see some new expression, uncover some layer, that he hadn’t seen before.

His musing were brought to an abrupt end when Kurt let out a loud burst of laughter and clutched his chest. “I think I’ve fallen in love.”

“Wha…?”

Kurt turned his tablet around to show Blaine the screen. “His name’s Maru and I’m seriously considering stealing him. Or at least making a clone.”

Blaine looked down to see a video playing of a cat running across a hardwood floor then taking a sliding leap headfirst into a cardboard box. Oh no, Kurt had discovered the world of cute animals on the internet. They might never be able to pry the tablet from his fingers again. Blaine looked down at his laptop, which still had several documents open that he needed to review, then glanced back at Kurt, warm and cozy under a blanket, still laughing at the video of Maru the cat. What was that saying about a dying man never wishing he had worked more? With a decisive click, he closed the lid on the computer and pushed it aside. He abandoned his chair and moved over to sit down on the couch next to Kurt where he repositioned the blanket that was on Kurt’s lap so that it now covered them both. “You think that’s cute, wait ‘til I introduce you to Boo, the world’s cutest dog…”

******

The next day at work Kurt was updating the portfolios for some of the agencies’ models, blushing slightly as he added some nude photos to a book, when Santana appeared at his elbow. “They’re just boobs, Mother Teresa. They aren’t going to reach out of the photo and attack you. Speaking of being attacked, I had to sneak by two groups of women in the break room who are about to come to blows over who gets to ask you to join them for lunch today. You are now officially the new office pet.” Kurt looked towards the break room. Santana must be exaggerating, but he had heard raised voices coming from that direction just a few moments ago.

“I heard about Sue’s ‘accident’ in the meeting yesterday. What an unusual and not-at-all-suspicious thing to have happened with you in the room. I also heard that she somehow locked herself out of her office for a few hours and that her car wouldn’t start last night so she had to call a taxi, which for some reason took over two hours to get here.”

Kurt kept his eyes on the portfolio he was working on, concentrating overly hard on sliding the next photo into the plastic protector. “I’m not sure what you are getting at.”

“Nothing, nothing at all. Just making an observation about the bad day she had. Not that she doesn’t deserve it — I’m sure she has really bad karma.” Santana sat down next to him nonchalantly and pulled a portfolio to her, looking at the photos inside before pushing it away with a grimace. She looked around for a moment to ensure that they were alone, then whispered, “I...I just want to make sure you’re being…discreet, you know? Just don’t call attention to yourself too much, if you can help it.”

Kurt’s hand paused for a second over the stack of photos and he turned his head to look at her with give her a questioning look. “Are you worried about me?”

“Look, if you tell anyone I said this I will deny it and have you committed to a hospital for a psych evaluation, but I like having you around and I’d hate for you to mess up what you’ve got going here just because Sue is a horrible excuse for a human being.”

“You’re right,” Kurt sighed, finally setting the stack of photos down. “I just hate bullies and it really bugs me to see her get away with stuff like that.”

“I get that, though since I’m sometimes called a bully myself I don’t know how hard I can throw stones. I just think that there might be a better way of changing Sue’s ways.”

“And what might that be?”

“I don’t know, but maybe we can figure that out together?”

“I think I’d enjoy that.”

******

On Valentine’s Day a few nights later, Blaine and Kurt found themselves alone in the house. Rachel was spending the evening with Finn, Helen was out with a few friends, and the staff had all been given the night off, so the two men decided to cook themselves a feast. Kurt had nearly swooned with joy when he had first seen the kitchen, though Blaine hadn’t really been sure why, since he always used his powers to prepare meals. Kurt had assured him that that wasn’t the point. Chef quality appliances and miles of counter space were always to be appreciated even if one wasn’t going to actually use them. They weren’t going to go unused this night, however. Kurt had declared that he wanted to try cooking the old fashioned way tonight, no powers allowed.

They had decided on the menu the previous day and Kathleen had made sure that the kitchen was stocked with everything they would need. As they cooked Blaine was surprised at how well they worked together. They moved around the kitchen gracefully as if in a choreographed dance, never getting in each other’s way but always there to offer a helping hand when needed. Kurt had a natural affinity for baking and Blaine preferred cooking, so they split most of their efforts up along those lines and were able to prepare the meal with only a brief food fight involving chocolate chips. Blaine once again had the distinct feeling that he was in a romantic comedy and almost felt like looking around for the cameras. It would be a waste if someone wasn’t recording their cheesy behavior for posterity.

Once dinner was ready they decided to forgo the formal dining room and instead ate over candlelight in the room where they normally ate breakfast. Kurt blushed a little as he lit the candles, acknowledging that they were a little over-the-top for the occasion, but that he liked to eat by candlelight because it reminded him of earlier, more simpler days.

Half-way through the meal Blaine set down his fork and glanced up at Kurt with a serious expression. “Kurt, I think I may owe you an apology. I had such fun tonight, cooking with you, but when you said that you didn’t want to use your powers I just… I worry that I’ve made you feel like you can’t use your powers for anything and I never wanted to make you feel like that. I wished that you would be yourself and then I immediately went and told you how you needed to change and I’m…I’m so sorry. I was just so scared about someone else finding out about you. There are a lot of bad people in the world and I…I sometimes worry about someone taking you away from me.”

“I know you’re only trying to protect me, but I’m a big boy, Blaine and I’d really like to find a compromise that works for both of us. I know I can’t just go and use my powers anywhere and I’m in constant fear of being caught on camera conjuring something up, but...”

“But you have to be you. And I want you to be, Kurt, I really do.” Blaine reached over and laid his hand on Kurt’s as had become his habit. “How about we make a deal? You’ll do your best to keep under the radar while out in public and I’ll do my best to embrace all of the wonder and excitement you and your powers bring to my life when we’re alone.”

“You have a deal.”

They lingered over dinner and desert, filling each other in on the goings on at work and telling funny stories, then after dinner they retired to the living room, where they nestled into a window seat, clutching mugs of coffee to warm their hands. Blaine listened while Kurt told a few amusing stories about life at Outstanding Models, but they soon drifted into a companionable silence.

Blaine leaned his head against the window pane, watching as it fogged up with each breath he took. “I wish it was summer so that we could go swimming in the moonlight. That just feels like the perfect end to this evening.”

Kurt sat up a little straighter at his words. “You wish…?”

“Oh no, not _wish_ wish. I mean, I don’t really want you to make it summer. I think a few people might notice that and I don’t think that qualifies under our new ‘when we are alone’ deal. I was just thinking out loud.”

“Well, I won’t make it summer, but I can still grant your wish.” Kurt set his coffee cup on a side table and pulled Blaine up from his seat, relieving him of his mug also. He intertwined their fingers and began winding his way towards the back door, never letting go of Blaine’s hand. He pushed open the doors and they stepped out into the cold night — only it wasn’t cold. The air was warm and smelled slightly of cut grass and summer flowers. Kurt stepped to one side and Blaine saw that the swimming pool was now uncovered and in all of its summer glory, the lights making it glow in the darkness. He walked to the edge and reached down to run his fingers lightly through the water, not sure why he was surprised when he felt the warmth.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t change the season. No one else will notice any difference. I just created a…let’s call it a bubble, over the backyard to make it warmer. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“This is amazing, Kurt. I can’t believe this. I…thank you.” He reached out and pulled Kurt into a tentative hug, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. When he didn’t tense up at the contact Blaine allowed himself a small smile. “I guess I should go put my suit on, huh?”

He walked around the pool to the cabana and swiftly changed into his swimsuit, giving a quick thought of thanks to Kathleen or whoever kept the building stocked up with suits and towels even in the winter. He returned to find Kurt already changed and dangling this legs into the water. Blaine came to an abrupt stop, momentarily rendered dumb at the sight. The lights shining up through the water were being reflected by the paleness of Kurt’s skin, making his body glow and shine. Blaine’s eyes wandered, cataloging each new aspect of Kurt’s body that had been uncovered: the toned arms, muscles defined as they shifted underneath his skin; The dusting of light brown hair covering his legs, chest and abdomen; The slim waist and broad shoulders that were always hinted at under his many layers of clothing. As Blaine stared all he could think was incandescent…luminous…radiant.

Blaine shook himself out of his stupor, realizing it was about to become very evident how much he liked seeing Kurt this way. In desperation he ran to the edge of the pool and dove in, happy when the water covered him, hiding him from Kurt’s view. He surfaced to find Kurt, who had now joined him in the water, laughing in delight.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been swimming. I don’t think I can remember the last time actually. I’m not exactly built for sunbathing, so the opportunity doesn’t usually present itself.”

“You sunburn? Can’t you just wish it away?”

“I can’t heal people, not even myself, so I can try and prevent it, but if it happens I just have to suffer like everyone else. It is easier just to stay out of the sun. I’m more of an indoors kind of guy anyways.”

“Well, you’re an outdoors guy tonight and you just so happen to be with one of the top Marco Polo players in North America, so you had better be ready.”

The two played games and swam for at least two hours before finally becoming too tired to continue. Kurt then conjured up two inflatable lounge chairs and they floated in the water, just gazing up and basking in what had been a perfect evening. As Blaine looked up, he realized he could see the stars, which must have also been Kurt’s doing, since the lights of Chicago made star gazing next to impossible. As he observed, faint lines began to appear, outlining each constellation as if the entire night sky had become their own private planetarium. Still watching the show in the sky, Blaine reached over the water, holding out his hand. It took just a few seconds for Kurt to reach back and they settled in, eyes turns upwards and never letting go of each other.

The next morning, Blaine looked out his window at the pool and was glad, yet oddly kind of disappointed, to find it closed up for winter as usual, as if the previous night had never happened.


	11. Chapter 11

“Kuuuurt. Wake up, Kuuuurt. Time to wake up.”

Blaine sat on the bed in Kurt’s room, calling towards the samovar sitting on the nightstand. Blaine felt kind of ridiculous talking to an inanimate object, but how else was one supposed to wake up a sleeping genie? Would knocking on the glass be rude and too loud for the inhabitant? Like knocking on the glass of an enclosure at the zoo? Oh god, did he just compare Kurt to a zoo animal? But how else was he going to get Kurt’s attention? He reached over tentatively with one finger and rubbed the samovar, hoping it would call the genie forth, like in the movies. No dice.

“Kuuuurt,” he called a little bit louder, “It’s a beautiful day and you don’t want to waste it sleeping. I have plans. Fun plans. Plans you don’t want to miss. We are going to—“

“Blaine, why are talking to an empty room?”

Blaine looked up to see Kurt standing in the doorway with an amused look on his face. “Oh! It’s so early that I thought you were still asleep and I was trying to figure out how to wake you up.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, I’m actually not sleeping in the samovar anymore. I got tired of making my bed look slept in each morning for the housekeeper and there really isn’t a reason for me not to sleep out here like a real boy, so yeah, no more samovar for me. And for future reference, if I am in there all you have to do is touch it to get my attention.”

“Good to know,” Blaine gave a little self-deprecating laugh and rose from the bed to join Kurt at the door. “I was trying to wake you up because I have big plans for the day. If you aren’t already occupied I was hoping you would join me for a day of fun and adventure in the city.”

His suggestion was met with a squeal of excitement from Kurt, who right away began deciding on the perfect outfit for their excursion. It was unseasonably warm for Chicago in mid-February, but it was still chilly, so he decided on a shirt, tie, and cardigan all in the same dark olive green color, tight black jeans, knee length black boots and a warm, but still stylish, black winter coat. Finished off with gloves, hat, and scarf it was the perfect outfit for an outing.

When Blaine would have left the room to go change Kurt held him back, holding up a finger and quirking an eyebrow. “Allow me.” Within seconds Blaine was newly clothed in a soft red and white striped sweater, navy pants and a beautiful red coat with frog style closures. Kurt gave him a critical look before adding a navy and white patterned scarf to the ensemble. “There! You are now the first of your friends to wear a Kurt Hummel original.”

Blaine eyed himself in the mirror, very satisfied with how he looked, though he privately thought it might look a little better with a bowtie.

Just as they were about to walk out the front door Kurt held Blaine back once again and took a quick glance around the entryway before making one last adjustment. Blaine felt his curls spring free as most of his hair gel disappeared, leaving just enough to tame his wild broccoli style hair into something presentable. Kurt gave a satisfied sigh and grabbed Blaine’s hand to pull him through the door. Out in the driveway, Sam was waiting with the town car, dressed for his role as chauffer. Within minutes, Sam had dropped them off in front of Blaine’s favorite breakfast spot and they were soon tucking themselves into a stack of pancakes.

“OK, now that I have some coffee in me and can think clearly, tell me what the plan is for today,” Kurt smiled, pushing his empty plate away.

“The theme of today’s adventure is ‘Be a tourist in your own hometown’. I was thinking about how we really haven’t gone out much, so you haven’t really seen anything of Chicago and it’s been so long since I’ve done any of the typical tourist stuff here. Later we will see the ‘real’ Chicago and I’ll take you to my favorite secret spots, but for today we’re going to do Tourist’s Chicago 101.”

“Excellent. Where to first?”

“I think we need to start our tour of Chicago with the best view in Chicago. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”

******

“Can I change my answer to your earlier question? Because this experience might be activating a fear of heights that I didn’t know I had.” Kurt looked through the clear glass beneath his feet all the way down to Wacker Drive, some 1,300 feet below.

“Ah come on, Kurt. You could probably put an elephant in these retractable balconies and they would still remain in place. Well, not an elephant, I’m sure, but you know what I mean. These things are perfectly safe.”

“Try telling that to my brain. It took everything I had just to convince myself to take that final step out onto the glass. I think I prefer my flooring with a little more opacity than this. Sorry, I know I’m being ridiculous. ”

“I find your irrational fear adorable. Come on, let’s go in and take in the view of the city from the nice, boring non-see through floor.”

The men made their way out of the glass balcony back into the main section of the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower and walked over to the opposite side to take in the view of the city with Lake Michigan in the background.

“This became the tallest building in the world in 1973, though it was known as the Sears Tower then.” Blaine reported, standing slightly behind Kurt at the window. “Chicago is famous for its architecture, so this is a great spot to get a birds-eye-view of the different buildings.” He was pushed a little closer to Kurt as the crowd moved and took the opportunity to lean in and reach an arm around Kurt’s body to point out sites as he talked about them. After he had finished his crash course in Chicago architecture they just stood for a while, taking in the sights.

“In the 1950s the tallest building in the world was the Empire State Building. It seemed impossible that anyone would ever build anything taller,” Kurt said, looking a little sad at the thought. “Look at how things have changed. Everything moves on, whether we are here to see it or not.”

“Hey, none of that. Only happy thoughts today. Come on, I know the perfect place for the next stop on our tourist extravaganza.”

They made their way down to the lake front and the Shed Aquarium, where they arrived just in time to grab seats for the dolphin show. Kurt’s reaction to the performance was more than Blaine could have hoped for. Kurt sat in amazement as the mammals performed their trained behaviors, jumping and spinning and soaring across the water. He didn’t take his eyes off them for a second, as mesmerized by their routine as Blaine was by Kurt himself. When the show finally ended, he stood up to applaud, wiping tears from his eyes.

“I have never seen anything like that. Did you see the relationship that those animals have with their trainers? I can’t believe…I just…that was beautiful.”

Right then and there Blaine made plans to contact the aquarium managers to see what he would have to do in order to get Kurt a day with the dolphins and their trainers. If they didn’t have a trainer-for-a-day program already set up then he would find another way. He was sure the facility wouldn’t turn down a new Anderson Worldwide sponsored exhibit in exchange for a little one-on-one time with the animals.

Their whirlwind tour of the city continued with a walk along the lake shore until they cut up to enter Millennium Park. There they viewed the various pieces of public art, laughing at the faces on the giant video screen wall and looking up at their reflections in the shiny bean shaped ‘Cloud Gate’ sculpture. In one corner of the park, a dedicated street musician was braving the cold weather to entertain the crowd, somehow playing the guitar without freezing his fingers off. The men stopped to listen for a few minutes and Blaine somehow found himself standing next to the musician, performing a duet of ‘This Friday Night’. Caught up in the moment, he jumped up onto a nearby park bench to belt out a few lines. From his perch he glanced over at Kurt on the edge of the crowd, who was looking at him with an expression that could only be called appalled amusement. When he caught his eye, Kurt just shook his head and mouthed “What is wrong with you?”

Blaine just laughed and finished up the song with a flourish, bowing deeply at the applause and dropping a $20 bill in the musician’s guitar case. He headed back over to Kurt and linked their arms together. “Come on, you know you loved it.”

Kurt was able to keep the disapproving look on his face for only a few seconds before he lost the battle and gave a big toothy smile. “I admit nothing. Now, I must insist that you feed me and in keeping with our tourist theme it must be delicious, but completely without any nutritional value.”

“I know just the place.”

Within minutes they were settled into a dark booth in the back of one of Blaine’s favorite restaurants and were soon enjoying some traditional Chicago deep dish pizza.

 “What do you want to do next? We can go over to the Magnificent Mile and do some shopping if you like?” Blaine asked just before taking a bite of pizza.

“Hmm, tempting, but I’d rather just keep seeing the sites. Besides, I think I want to save all of the designer stores for our trip to New York.”

Blaine’s heart skipped a beat when, in the middle of talking, Kurt reached over to wipe a bit of sauce from the corner of Blaine’s mouth. “O..OK,” Blaine stuttered, “More sightseeing it is.”

They finished their meal, bundled up, and headed back out onto the street, this time on a mission to study the city’s famous architecture. They wandered the streets for hours as Blaine gave a running commentary on the buildings and the history of the city. Blaine felt as if he was seeing his city with new eyes and it was all due to Kurt. All day long, Kurt had approached their adventures with an almost child-like excitement, soaking up all that he observed around him like a sponge. As the day wound down Blaine was hard pressed to remember a day that he had enjoyed more and hoped that his plans for the evening proved to be just as enjoyable. He had made reservations at a small French restaurant, so they walked in that general direction, reaching it just in time for their seating. As they crossed the street towards the restaurant, Kurt reached an arm around Blaine’s waist to pull him out of the way of a car that was taking the corner illegally. It was the first time that he could remember Kurt initiating physical contact with him other than holding hands and he smiled to himself as he held the shop door open for Kurt to walk through. Yes, it was a good day.

After dinner Blaine had one more surprise up his sleeve. He directed Kurt towards a brownstone building with a small sign out front that would only be noticed by those who already knew it was there. They headed down the steps to the lower level and stepped through the door into a club that was filled with the most glorious jazz music. They took their seats at a reserved table off to the side of the small seating area and applauded enthusiastically when the band finished their set. After a few minutes new musicians took the stage, this time playing some slinky R&B music and Blaine watched with interested as a singer joined them. Mercedes Jones was one of the hottest acts in town and she was the reason that he had selected this particular club. He had heard great things about her, but hadn’t yet had the chance to hear her in person. As soon as she opened her mouth, his jaw hit the table in astonishment and a quick look over at Kurt showed that he wasn’t alone in his reaction. She was amazing and was putting so much emotion into her song that everyone in the room believed every word about heartache and loss.

After several songs, Mercedes left the stage for a short break. Blaine felt eyes on him and he turned his head to find Kurt staring at him with a contemplative expression.

“You don’t talk much about being a musician,” Kurt murmured, leaning forward a little to be heard over the instrumental music. “Do you mind talking about it?”

“Of course not, what do you want to know?”

“Do you miss it?”

“It was really hard at first, but it’s gotten easier. I honestly don’t think about it that much anymore. This —my being in Chicago and at the company— is what my mom needs right now, it’s where I need to be. Maybe someday I’ll return to it, but for now I’m OK with where I am and what I am doing. I really am.”

“OK, but just so you know, just because you’re a big time business man now doesn’t mean that you can’t also perform. There’s no rule that you can’t do both. And if there’s anyone that could make it work, it’d be you.”

Blaine was prevented from responding by the reappearance of Mercedes on the stage, but Kurt’s words stuck with him. Do both? He hadn’t really considered that. He always thought of music and business as two separate paths his life could take, but what if that wasn’t the case? What would such a dual life even look like and would he even want it? He pushed the idea to the back of his mind — this night was about having fun and spending some quality time with Kurt, not re-evaluating the direction his life was going in. He sat back in his chair and returned his attention to the songstress serenading them from the stage. Boy that woman had some pipes on her. Maybe he should give a call to some of his music industry contacts back in New York and suggest to them that they might want to do some talent scouting in Chicago soon.

Kurt and Blaine stayed at the club until closing time, then grabbed a taxi back home where they arrived to find all of the lights off and the house quiet. They slipped off their winter things and tip-toed up to the second floor, careful not to disturb Rachel or Helen. Once they got to their bedrooms the day turned awkward for the first time and they stood there for a moment, neither one sure of how to end the evening.

Finally, Blaine broke the awkward silence. “Thanks for indulging me today, Kurt. I hope you had a good time.”

“It was great, even taking into account the unfortunate reaffirmation of your poor taste in pop music and your strange proclivity for jumping on furniture.”

“Well, I’m short, so I think it’s just natural that I want to be up high sometimes,” Blaine pouted.

Kurt laughed and opened his door. “Goodnight. We’ll have to do it again when the weather gets warmer. I really want to take one of those river and lake cruises.”

“Absolutely! It’s a date.”

The door closed behind Kurt, leaving Blaine alone in the hallway, his own words echoing in his ears. A date. Had today been a date? It had felt like one, but he wasn’t interested in Kurt like that, was he? He turned to his room contemplating this sudden turn of events. A date. Huh.

******

The next morning Kurt awoke early again and couldn’t get back to sleep. His mind kept churning over the events of the previous day, analyzing each moment. He had gone into the day very secure in his feelings and his place with Blaine. He was just a connection, nothing more. Maybe a very close one, one of the closest he had ever had, but still just a connection none-the-less. But after a night spent tossing and turning Kurt was forced to reevaluate that position. Was it possible that Blaine could be something more than just a connection? Were either one of them looking to take their relationship to another level? It was something that Kurt had never considered before in all of his years and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

He squirmed in his bed in discomfort, as if the thoughts were an itch he could scratch away. No, he was not going to think about this anymore. Blaine was his friend and had given no real indication that he wanted more, so there was no reason to pursue this line of thinking. He got out of bed, dressed and slipped down the stairs. If sleep wasn’t going to happen then he knew just the way to pass the morning. He headed down to the lower level and was just outside the theater door when he heard music coming from inside. Obviously he was not the only one who found musicals a perfect distraction from insomnia.

He entered the room quietly, closing the door behind him and using one hand to pull the heavy black-out curtain aside several inches. On the screen a woman in an orange dress was singing a song from the deck of a tug boat passing the Statue of Liberty. He was captivated by the sound of the woman’s voice and knew that this was another movie he needed to add to his viewing list. He was so enthralled by the music that a noise from the plush seats caught him off guard. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Rachel, huddled beneath a fluffy blanket, sobbing her heart out. At first Kurt thought she was overcome by the power of the music, like he had been earlier with _Moulin Rouge_ , but as he continued to watch her he saw that what he was seeing was true heartbreak. He paused for a minute, unsure of what he should do. Should he get Blaine? Helen? Leave her in peace? Finally he made up his mind, slipped through the curtain and made his way down to the seats. “May I join you?”

Rachel looked up at him, startled out of her crying jag at his sudden appearance. She sat up a bit straighter and surreptitiously wiped the tears from her face. “Of course, please.” They sat silently for a few minutes, watching the film until Rachel finally felt ready to speak. “ _Funny Girl_ ,” she offered, pointing to the screen, “Perhaps the best perfomance of Barbra Streisand, the greatest musical star there ever was and ever will be.” She reached over to the table next to her and used the remote control to turn down the volume of the movie. “I’ve seen this movie so many times that I can recite it for you line-for-line. I could dance every dance for you, sing every song. I feel as if someone wrote down what my life is supposed to be and put it up there on the big screen for everyone to see, but I’m stuck sitting in the audience, watching it pass me by.” She swiveled a bit in her chair, turning to face Kurt, her face filled with yearning and despair. “Kurt, can I tell you a secret? Do you promise not to tell Helen or Blaine?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“That up there,” she whispered, “It’s what I’m meant to do with my life, my destiny. Broadway, musicals, the theater…I want it all so much, sometimes I think I might die from the pain of never having it.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “When my parents split up and decided that they couldn’t really be bothered with me anymore I was so afraid of what was going to happen to me. I imagined all sorts of bad things, like the orphanage from _Annie_ or the workhouse from _Oliver!_ and then suddenly there was Helen and William, willing to open their home to me, share their son with me. Love me. I made a promise to myself then that I would do whatever I could to make them happy and make sure they never regretted it. I performed a lot in school and they came to every single performance. They were always my number one fans, but I could tell that they didn’t really understand how much it all meant to me, how much of my soul was tied up in it. I knew they had different hopes for me, different plans. I was working on getting up the courage to tell them when the accident happened and suddenly William was gone and Helen needed me so much more than before. So I pushed the need to perform away and promised myself I’d be what Helen wanted. And then there was Finn. I had known him for years, but after the accident we became closer and Helen was so happy. I love him, I do, but I see what my life is going to be now and it’s committees and luncheons and performing only at charity functions and I just…. You know, we have almost every musical ever put on film here in our library and I can seldom bring myself to watch them anymore? It just hurts too much.” Rachel broke down sobbing again, curling up over the arm of the chair with her face buried in her arms.

Kurt let her cry for a few minutes, waiting until her sobs retreated to sniffles and hiccups. “I’ve only recently been introduced to musicals, but I definitely know what you’re talking about. I watch them, listen to the music and wonder how it is they know my innermost thoughts, my deepest desires. Don’t get me wrong, I like straight plays too, but there’s just something so honest about an emotion set to song. An entire play can be spent trying to uncover the truth that’s communicated in only 4 minutes in a song. I know musicals are cheesy and overly dramatic, but then I guess so am I.” Rachel looked up at him through her tear soaked lashes, amazed that someone seemed to understand. “If performing is really what you want, you can’t let anyone keep you from it. Talent is a horrible thing to waste. It’s a gift that many people can only wish for and if you have it naturally then you should do all you can to make your dreams come true. It’s your life, Rachel, and you are the one who has to live it. Not anyone else.”

Rachel gave him a tentative smile, as if she was a little shocked that he would express such belief in her. He turned his attention back to the screen to give her time to absorb what he had said and they sat in surprisingly companionable silence for the rest of the movie.

Just as the end credits began, Rachel’s phone vibrated and she looked down to read the new text message with a sigh. “My dress for the opera cocktail party has been delivered. Would you…do you have time to come see it?”

“Rachel, you don’t know me that well yet, but one of the things you’ll learn about me is that I _always_ have time for fashion,” Kurt replied with an impish grin. He unfolded himself from the comfy chair and reached out a hand to pull her from the nest of blankets she’d made for herself.

By the time they got to Rachel’s bedroom suite, the dress was already hanging in her closet. She pulled it from the dress bag and turned with a flourish. “Ta da!”

Kurt was rooted to the floor unable to tear his eyes away from the monstrosity of pink tulle and bows. It looked like a cross between a toddler’s first ballet recital costume and overdressed wedding cake. “Oh dear god no. Rachel, please tell me you’re joking about this. Or… is someone forcing you to wear it? Are you being blackmailed? Should I call Blaine? Or better yet, the police?”

Rachel looked out from behind the enormous dress with a hesitant worried look. “No, I chose this. I thought it looked sweet yet distinctive. You don’t like it?”

“Rachel, there are no words to describe the level of loathing I hold for that dress. In fact, I refuse to even call it a dress, as that’s an insult to all fashion designers everywhere.” He reached out with two fingers to lift the dress from her hands and tossed it as quickly as he could onto a nearby chair. “Stay right here. I’ll be right back.” He swiftly made his way to his bedroom, where he picked up his sketch pad from his bedside table. Did he really want to show Rachel his designs? What if she didn’t like them? Did he like her enough to open himself up like this? Suddenly an image of the pink ‘dress’ flashed through his mind once again. No, no matter how he felt about Rachel he couldn’t let her go out in public wearing that. He owed it to the people of Chicago. He returned to her room clutching the sketch book and beckoned her over to the desk, where he showed her a few sketches of dresses and silhouettes that he knew would flatter her petite figure.

She oh’d and awed over the designs, proclaiming each one to be more beautiful than the last. When they reached the final sketch she traced it with a fingertip, lingering over the vintage style full skirt. “The party is in 5 days. I wish there was time for you to make me one of these dresses.”

Kurt had promised that he would keep his conjuring down to a minimum around other people, but he knew Blaine would understand. He loved Rachel and wanted the best for her. Besides… that pink tulle. “Actually, I have a few samples already made up that will fit you with some slight alterations. Tell me which one is your favorite and I’ll see what I can do.”

With a speed that indicated that she thought Kurt might change his mind, Rachel flipped back through the designs, stopping on a red dress covered in an intricate black scroll-work design. “I love this one. I would start a new trend in this dress. I’m sure all of the girls would envy me and try to dress like me. Please, please tell me that you have this one made up,” she pleaded.

Kurt held up a finger to indicate she should wait and he returned to his room again. Once the door was closed, he concentrated on his bed and pictured the dress in a size that would fit the tiny girl. The air wavered for a moment then the scroll-work pattern began to appear, soon to be followed by the red. A second later he scooped up the finished garment and was on his way back to Rachel.

Her mouth dropped open as he presented her with the just-below-the-knee length dress. She rushed to his side, pulled the dress from his hands then ran into her huge walk-in closet to hold the dress up to her body in front of the full length mirror. “Perfect. It’s perfect. I…” Her tear filled eyes met his in the mirror and her watery smile was the first real one he had seen from her since he arrived at the Anderson’s house. “I’ll need shoes and accessories and a new haircut and…”

Kurt was unable to hold back a giant smile and clapped his hand together happily. “Yay! Makeover!”


	12. Chapter 12

Astonished, dumbfounded, flabbergasted — Kurt wondered which word best described Blaine’s face when he found out that Kurt was spending the day with Rachel. He and Rachel had begun their makeover immediately after she selected the design she wanted for her dress. They had spent the morning in her closet, unsuccessfully looking for accessories that might go with the dress, before Kurt finally declared the search futile and announced that they would be going into the city for an emergency shopping trip.

They grabbed their things and were heading towards the front door when they ran into Blaine, who was coming up to see if they wanted to join him for lunch. They left him gaping after them from the stairs, struck dumb by the announcement of their plans, and rushed to the garage to see if Sam was available to drive them to their first stop.

Since Kurt already had in mind the types of accessories that would look best with his design it only took them a few hours to find the perfect shoes, bag, and jewelry to complete the look. After the shopping was completed Kurt asked Sam to take them to a salon where he had booked an emergency session. The receptionist had laughed at first when Kurt asked for a same-day appointment with their top stylist, but her laughter turned to amazement just moments later when she found an open spot on the calendar that she could have sworn hadn’t been there a few minutes before.

The stylist was only slightly put out when Kurt took control of the appointment, making recommendations as to the cut and color of Rachel’s hair. At first she was a little too distracted by Kurt’s appearance and by the time she had torn herself away from staring at his perfect hair she realized that the suggestions he was making were right on point. Once the hair appointment was over Kurt led Rachel over to her next appointment where she was plucked and waxed to his satisfaction.

They returned home in time for dinner, where Blaine watched in amazement as they happily recounted the activities of their day and planned cosmetics experiments for later in the week. When they finished dinner Rachel stood up from her chair and clasped her hands in front of her before turning to address Kurt.

“I…I really wanted to thank you for today. I had so much fun and you didn’t have to do any of this; especially with the way I’ve been treating you. I was selfish and possessive and I’m really hoping that we can start over? Maybe be friends?” When Kurt reacted with a smile and a nod Rachel moved to his side of the table. “I’m so glad. I’m going to hug you now, OK?” She reached down and wrapped her arms around Kurt’s shoulders for a brief hug, not wanting to push her luck too soon in their new relationship. She withdrew and gave both men a big smile before leaving the room to call Finn.

Blaine waited for her to leave before pouncing on Kurt with all of his questions. “How did this miracle happen? Has my cousin been replaced with a pod person? ‘Cause I can’t think of any other explanation.”

Kurt made a mental note to look up ‘pod person’ on the computer later that night, but thought he understood the gist of Blaine’s question. “We kind of had a break-through today over musicals and fashion.”

“Fashion. Rachel?”

“She showed me the dress she was planning on wearing to the cocktail party. Frankly, I congratulate myself on not making it disappear in a burst of flames. My feelings of pity for her pathological lack of fashion sense led me to show her some of my designs and I offered to make a dress for her. The shopping and make-over are just the cherries on top.”

“Kurt, that’s amazing. For both of you. I must admit I’m a little jealous, though. I kinda wanted to be the first one to wear a Kurt Hummel design to a public event.”

“Hmmm…I don’t know. Kurt Hummel Designs is a very exclusive line. We don’t allow just anyone to wear our clothes.” Kurt laughed at Blaine’s pouty face. “OK, come on. I may have come up with a few designs for you while I was working on my own outfit.”

******

The cocktail party was in full swing by the time the Anderson contingent arrived. Kurt took a quick look around to confirm that the outfits he had designed were appropriate for the event. Blaine had described the party as ‘on the more formal edge of semi-formal, but with a playful edge’, so he had been nervous about getting the designs right. He was happy to note that, though he considered his designs to be better than most of what he was seeing, they fit in thematically with what most of the other guests were wearing.

He glanced over at Blaine, thinking how handsome he looked in his black cable knit cardigan with black velvet blazer-style collar. The addition of the white tuxedo shirt and black bowtie definitely took the sweater in a more formal direction and the black pants with raised seams down the front where the fold line would normally be were formal with a definite attitude. Kurt also liked how Blaine’s clothes contrasted quite nicely with his own ensemble of black pants, black turtleneck and a single-button blazer made of dark eggplant colored velvet. They would look striking standing next to each other and he felt that together they showed a bit of his range as a designer.

Rachel had been over the moon about the final look of her dress especially when paired with a black belt that emphasized her tiny waist and a pair of ankle boots. The outfit had much more of an edge to it than what she normally wore and she was definitely putting on an attitude to match. Finn had practically tripped over his tongue when he had first seen her and the delighted smile she gave Kurt made the whole process worth it.

They greeted the organizer of the event then broke up into smaller groups, with Rachel being pulled by Finn towards the refreshments and Helen, dressed in a classic off-white Chanel jacket and slim pencil skirt edged in gold ruffling, heading off into the room where the musical performances were being staged. Blaine watched her go with a slight look of worry on his face.

“This is the first big event that she’s attended since my father died. I’m sure a lot of the ‘friends’ that gossiped about her after the funeral will be here too. I hope she’ll be alright.”

Kurt laid his hand on Blaine’s shoulder and gave it a quick comforting rub. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, but we’ll keep an eye on her just in case, OK?” Blaine gave him a grateful smile and reached his hand up to cover Kurt’s which was still lying on his shoulder.

The next hour passed quickly for Kurt, as he and Blaine worked their way around the room, stopping every few feet to speak to someone else that Blaine was acquainted with. Kurt was introduced to so many people that he knew he would never remember their names, so he stopped trying. For the most part, the introductions went well, but there were definitely times when he noticed the speculative looks being sent his way. This was especially true the few times Blaine introduced him to someone who was on the board of Anderson Worldwide. Kurt could see the judgment in their eyes as they looked at him and Blaine and he was concerned that most of the censure seemed to be directed towards Blaine. If the board wanted him to play it straight for them, then introduced them to Kurt might not be the best course of action.

Finally, Blaine announced he was tired of mingling. They grabbed some finger foods from the passing waiters and moved into the music room to talk and enjoy some performances. They had been able to hole themselves off for a whole hour before they were finally interrupted. Kurt looked up to see Quinn heading their way, dressed in a classic cocktail dress with a full skirt and a drape style bodice. The fabric looked plain black at first, but on closer inspection it had a lighter floral pattern burned into it, which added a lot of depth and definition. He grudgingly had to admit that she looked beautiful, even with the determined look on her face that spelled the end of their quiet little oasis.

“Blaine, there you are. You need to stop being anti-social and come with me right now. My father and several of the other board members have been asking where you are,” she declared, wrapping her arm around Blaine’s and tugging him towards the main room. He tossed an apologetic look at Kurt, who just smiled and toasted him with his glass of non-alcoholic cider. After a few minutes, Kurt wandered into the other room, looking to perhaps meet up with Finn and Rachel. As he looked around the room his eyes seemed to automatically find Blaine, who was standing next to Quinn in the middle of a group of solemnly attired men. He noted the approving glances they were giving Blaine now that he was standing next to Quinn, so different from the looks he had received while with Kurt. He watched Blaine more closely and saw how well he was handling the men, how comfortable he seemed. Being part of the business might not have been his first choice, but it definitely suited him. Kurt felt a pang of sadness as he gazed at the group and realized that this is what Blaine’s life could be like if he married Quinn. He could have the acceptance and support of the men who controlled his future.

Kurt was interrupted from his depressing thoughts when he noticed Noah Puckerman standing against a far wall, looking even more uncomfortable than Kurt felt. Puck was wearing a somewhat ill-fitting suit and tugged at the too-tight neckline of his shirt while eyeing the door as if trying to calculate the time it would take for him to make a run for it; Kurt could relate. He walked over to join him and saw relief in Puck’s eyes as he approached.

“Man, am I glad to see you. I’ve been here for like 20 minutes and you’re the first person I’ve seen that I recognize.”

“Hi Puck, I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

“And I wouldn’t be here if I had a choice, believe me. This is not how the Puck-meister usually rolls. There aren’t nearly enough naked chicks for this to be my kind of party.” Puck grimaced and shot Kurt an apologetic look. “Sorry, I kind of revert to my teenage self when I’m uncomfortable. The opera is doing some work with the camp this summer to help introduce the kids to different kinds of music, so I’m here to meet up with the head of their education department. The sooner I can get that done the sooner I can leave. I’m going to need a giant-ass beer after this.”

“Blaine and Quinn are around here somewhere. Let’s go track them down.”

“Quinn, huh? Yeah, sure why not. It’s not like the night can get much worse.”

They found Blaine and Quinn still speaking with the group of men from Anderson Worldwide. Kurt was reluctant to intrude until he saw the expression of relief on Blaine’s face. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question and Blaine responded with a widening of his eyes that communicated a silent ‘help me’. They interrupted under the pretense of asking Blaine if he could help Puck find the man he was supposed to be meeting and the board members graciously moved on to speak to someone else, leaving just the four of them together.

Kurt immediately noticed the same strange interplay he had seen before between Puck and Quinn, who seemed to be trying to ignore each other and glare at each other at the same time. Finally Quinn made a snide comment about Puck’s suit and they began to squabble back and forth, which gave Kurt and Blaine the opportunity to draw away and move across the room.

“What’s the story there?” Kurt asked, indicating the arguing couple with a tilt of his head.

“I’m not really sure exactly. Puck participated in a ‘kids at risk’ program that Quinn volunteered for in high school, so they’ve known each other a long time. He kind of had a crush on her back then, but she’s always been kind of a snob, so there wasn’t any chance of anything happening. They seemed to be becoming friends of a sort towards the end of school, but then Quinn left to spend a year abroad after graduation; when she returned she wouldn’t give Puck the time of day. Ever since then they’ve been chilly with one another, to say the least. Never could get the whole story out of either one of them.”

Blaine looked like he was about to saying something else, but then suddenly gave a quiet groan and reached up to rub the back of his neck with one hand. “Don’t look now, but an ex-classmate of mine just came in the door and…ugh.” Kurt automatically looked in the direction of the entryway. “No! I said don’t look. Don’t draw his attention. He’s been after me since high school and just won’t take a hint. Quick let’s hide.” Kurt laughed as he let Blaine pull him by the hand to skirt around the edge of the crowd to the other side of the room. They had just about reached the safety of music room when a low growling voice from behind stopped them dead.

“Hello gorgeous. I knew you must be here when I saw the ice sculpture was already starting to melt. It just couldn’t stand all of the heat you generate.”

Blaine rolled his eyes and took a second to replace his pained expression with a forced smile before turning around. “Sebastian. Haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?”

“Better now that I’ve seen you again. You are seriously looking trèssexy tonight. That outfit is hot. What say you and I blow off these old geezers and go have a private party of our own?” Sebastian ran his eyes slowly up and down Blaine’s body as if Blaine was an ice cream cone and he was just deciding from where to take the first bite.

Blaine gave a weary sigh, having been in this same situation too often to even bother getting upset. “Sebastian, I’d like you to meet my friend, Kurt Hummel. He designed the clothes I’m wearing this evening, so I’m glad you approve.”

Sebastian reluctantly tore his gaze away from Blaine to acknowledged Kurt with a smile that was definitely more of a sneer. Kurt returned the favor with a raised eyebrow and an extra superior expression. He felt it was safe to say it was a case of hate at first sight.

The three of them made small talk about the party and the upcoming opera season for a few minutes. The conversation wasn’t very interesting, but Kurt was highly entertained by the look of panic, like that of an animal caught in a trap, in Blaine’s eyes every time Sebastian leered at him. Desperate to find a way out of the awkward conversation Blaine made the mistake of mentioning how warm the room was becoming and the gleam in Sebastian’s eyes was just signaling the imminent arrival of another inappropriate comment when Helen joined their group.

“Blaine dear, can I borrow you for a moment? There’s a question about the donation the company is making that I need your input on.” When Blaine looked reluctant to leave, she added, “I’m sure your friends can make do without you for a few minutes.” Blaine offered Kurt a silent apology and he let her lead him away.

As soon as Blaine was out of earshot, Sebastian rounded on Kurt. “I’m not sure what you _think_ you are going to accomplish here, but you’d better back off. I’ve been laying the groundwork to get into Blaine’s pants ever since he got back in town and I’m not going to let Priscilla Queen of the Desert come in and ruin it.”

Ambushed by a sudden feeling of possessiveness about Blaine, Kurt couldn’t help but retaliate. “You’ve been at this for a whole year? It sounds like panda bears have more interest in mating than Blaine has in you.”

“And you think he’d be interested in you? Where’d you get your clothes from? A Liberace garage sale?

“Better that than the costume department of Miami Vice. Please fold your collar down, you’re going to poke someone’s eye out.”

“Trust me, that’s not what I’ll be poking someone’s eye out with.”

“Oh my god, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Look, don’t you have something better to go do? I’m sure it’s about time to take your next dose of penicillin. You don’t want to miss it. I’m sure you don’t want your ‘condition’ to flame up.”

“You’re one to talk about flames—“

“Kurt, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. The head of the opera costume department is here and I want to introduce you. I’m sure he’d love to talk with you about your wonderful ball gown designs,” Santana interrupted, sliding in next to Kurt and fixing a bored look on the taller man. “Sebastian, I’m surprised to see you here. Shouldn’t you be swimming around after Ursula the Sea Witch along with your slimy eel twin?”

Sebastian realized he didn’t have much chance of winning a battle of wits against both Kurt _and_ Santana, so he made his semi-polite excuses and disappeared into the crowd.

“Santana, please tell me Blaine never came close to taking him up on his offer.”

“Puleeze, I’d have clubbed him over the head like a baby seal if he’d even looked twice and he knows it.”

******

From the opposite side of the room, Blaine kept craning his head to see if he could spot the other two men. He had a lot of confidence in Kurt’s ability to take care of himself and to give as good as he got, but Sebastian was definitely a master at the verbal take-down and he wanted to make sure things hadn’t escalated to the point of spilled blood.

He and his mother had finished their conversation with the opera representative about the donation, but Helen had kept a tight grip on his arm to keep him by her side. Her smile had a definite brittle edge to it and he wondered if she had had an unpleasant run-in with any of her former so-called friends.

“Mother, Kurt and I are pretty worn out and were thinking about leaving early. I was just about to give Sam a call to bring the car around. Do you want to leave with us?”

“I was just thinking that I was a bit tired also, so that would be lovely, thank you.”

She waited patiently while Blaine made a quick call to Sam and then texted Rachel and Finn to see if they wanted to leave early also. When Blaine was finished they started a leisurely walk back through the room to locate Kurt.

“Blaine, did you notice how lovely Rachel looked tonight? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so confident and happy. She’s been so somber lately. I don’t think I‘d realized until I saw the difference tonight.”

“She’s been spending a lot of time with Kurt this week. They’ve discovered they’ve got a lot in common and I think she likes having someone else to talk to about theater and music. Plus, Kurt designed that beautiful dress for her and gave her a make-over. You know how much she enjoys being the focus of attention.”

“Kurt designed that dress? I’m amazed. I had no idea he was so talented. I knew it wasn’t her usual style, but I had no idea.”

“Both he and I are also decked out in his designs. You should ask to see his sketches. The charity ball is coming up soon and I know he has some amazing ball gowns. I’m sure he’d love to work with you on something.”

Helen seemed to be considering Blaine’s suggestion and looked at Kurt with new eyes when they eventually found him and Santana near the bar. They bid Santana farewell and headed out to the limo, Rachel and Finn joining them.

In the car, Rachel chatted happily, informing Kurt about all the compliments she had received on her dress and thanking him again for his help. She then moved on to describing the new people she had met at the party, including one gentleman who was the historical consultant for interior design at Buckingham Palace. “Can you imagine? He’s responsible for making sure all 420 rooms in the palace are decorated in a historically accurate fashion and —“

“429” Kurt corrected absently.

“What?”

“Buckingham Palace has 429 rooms, at least it did the last time I was there.” It was only where he heard the stunned silence that Blaine realized what Kurt had just said.

“You’ve…you’ve been to Buckingham Palace?” Helen asked in a slightly strangled voice.

Kurt stumbled a bit over his explanation and Blaine could see a hint of panic in his eyes. “Yes, I…I was there to do some writing, but I’m sure you can understand that I can’t really give any details. Confidentiality, you know.”

Everyone seemed to accept his explanation, though they were still amazed at his revelation. Blaine bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud at their expressions and turned to give Kurt an amused look. Kurt just responded with a mouthed ‘sorry’ and moved to look out the window in an attempt to hold in his own amusement. Blaine would have to get the details of his royal interactions out of him at a later time.

Suddenly, the car gave a jolt and the engine began issuing a loud knocking noise. Sam pulled the car off to the side of the road and jumped out to see if he could figure out the problem. He returned a few minutes later to tell them that he didn’t have the tools with him to make the needed repairs, so he would have to call another car to pick them up.

“Sam, would you mind if I took a look?” Kurt asked. “I have a little experience with this type of engine and I might be able to jerry-rig something to at least get us home.”

Sam gratefully accepted Kurt’s offer and the two of them moved off to look under to hood once more. After a few minutes Sam slid back into the driver’s seat and was able to successfully start the car. Kurt closed the hood and wiped his hands before slipping back in next to Blaine in the back seat. In the darkness Blaine could see the colors of Kurt’s eyes still swirling and he reached over to squeeze his hand in thanks.

The rest of the drive home was unsuccessful, with everyone taking the time to relax and unwind a little. Just as they walked in the front door Blaine’s phone rang and he was surprised to see that it was Santana calling.

 “That lame party left a bad taste in my mouth. I needz to get my fun on, so grab Elf on the Shelf, the Ewok, and the Jolly Green Giant and meet me at the karaoke club in half an hour. No excuses.”

“Hello to you to, Santana. I’m assuming you mean Kurt, Rachel, and Finn? Can I ask, do you prepare lists of nicknames ahead of time or do these just come to you spontaneously in the moment?”

“What can I say? It’s a gift. Come on, time’s-a-wasting. Twenty-five minutes.” Santana hung up abruptly, assuming that everyone would do her bidding and meet her at the club. Blaine relayed the invitation and everyone agreed that since it was still relatively early that they were up for some karaoke fun. Helen bid them goodnight and they piled into Blaine’s car for the ride to the club.

They entered to find Santana already there, having reserved them a table near the stage. “Just in time! Boys, I took the liberty of signing you up for a song and look, hey, you’re up next.” With a hand on each of their backs she pushed them to the stage. As the introduction music began to play and the song title appeared on the small screen in front of them Blaine sent a warning glance to Santana. He turned to make an apology to Kurt, but found him laughing at the song selection.

“But it isn’t a duet, how are we going to split it up?”

“You just start and I’ll jump in as backup on some verses.”

“Oh god. OK, here goes…”

Kurt started on the first verse of ‘Friend Like Me’, really hamming it up for the audience and putting on funny voices like Robin Williams had in the movie. Blaine had heard Kurt sing in the car and along with songs in the musicals they were watching, but this was totally different — he wasn’t just singing, he was _performing_. Blaine wanted nothing more than to abdicate his space on the stage and just listen to Kurt perform on his own. In fact, he was so caught up in enjoying Kurt’s singing that he nearly missed his cue to join the song. He shook his head a little to clear his thoughts and threw himself into backing Kurt up in the song. They both put their all into the performance and laughed at the cries of “encore” from the crowd as they left the stage.

When they returned to their seats they found Santana had ordered several rounds of drinks and Blaine gave Rachel a look of disapproval as she finished off the Cosmopolitan she was drinking. He ordered a round of waters for himself and Kurt and sat back to enjoy the next performer. After an ear-splitting rendition of ‘These Boots Were Made for Walking’ and a passable version of ‘It’s Raining Men’ it was Santana’s turn to hit the stage. Still dressed in her skin-tight animal print dress from the party she immediately held the attention of all of the men and several of the women in the audience. Blaine groaned when he heard the opening bars of ‘Wicked Game’. Santana only pulled that song out when she was feeling particularly moody. It was going to be a long night.

******

Kurt was impressed by Santana's song, though her dark mood left him a little unsettled. Rachel was up next and he hoped that she would bring the fun back to the night. She gave him a rather pointed look as she took the stage, so he leaned forward in his chair a little, interested to see what she had prepared. The screen on stage announced the song as 'Immortality' by the BeeGees and Kurt wasn't familiar with it, but as soon as Rachel began singing he knew why she had selected it, with its themes of destiny and working towards achieving a dream.

Though Kurt had given Rachel the pep talk earlier about going after her dreams, this was the first time he was actually hearing her sing. Her entire body vibrated with emotion as she threw herself into the song. He couldn't imagine what she would be like on a proper stage, in a full out performance, but he was almost positive that he would have the chance someday. As her powerful voice filled the club he wondered how Helen and Blaine couldn't see that this is what she was meant to do. He was struck by how alike she and Blaine were. Both had the need to perform in their souls, but were suppressing it in favor of family obligations.

When the last notes of the song died out, Kurt stood up and gave her a standing ovation, along with at least half of the other people in the club. She blushed and curtsied and jumped off the stage into Finn's waiting arms. He spun her around and gave her a big kiss and a hug, causing her to blush even more.

"Wow, she's really good," Kurt exclaimed, testing the waters a bit with Blaine. "She should be on Broadway. She's just as good as any of the people I've heard on the cast recordings. Did she ever want to make a career out of performing?"

“She was really into it as a kid, but it seems like she grew out of it. She still performs for charity gigs and stuff, but she’s been getting more into mentoring, like for that show down at the women’s shelter. Mom is planning on giving her a lot for responsibility with the Anderson charities, so it’s probably for the best. She won’t really have time to waste of stuff like that.”

“Best for who?” Kurt wondered quietly as Finn and Rachel rejoined them at the table and Rachel grabbed another drink, despite Blaine’s protests. As they listened to several other songs Kurt felt Blaine’s arm spread out along the back of his chair, his hand brushing Kurt’s shoulder every so often. The contact was distracting and he found himself losing the thread of conversation several times. When Blaine finally removed his arm he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

 “Kurt, Kurt, I am sooo glad we made up. Talent like ours has got to stick together, you know?” Rachel leaned closer and looked earnestly into his eyes. “I think we’re soul mates, you and I. Platonic ones, of course, but still soul mates. With the combination of my talent and your — Oh yay, Finn and I are up next!” She left the table and skipped up to the stage, grabbing a microphone and waiting impatiently for Finn to join her. They began their interpretation of ‘Making Love Out of Nothing At All’ and Kurt was surprised to find that Finn also had a good singing voice. He had definitely fallen in with a musically blessed group.

Santana watched the couple on the stage for a few moments, looking as if she was torn between throwing rotten fruit at them and plugging her ears. With a final look of disgust she turned back to her drink, draining half of it at one go. “Psst Kurt,” she leaned into Kurt with a loud drunken whisper, “We’re friends, right?”

Kurt raised his eyebrows in surprise and gave her a nod.

“So, do friends get wishes too or is it just Blaine that gets to ride the genie express?”

“What is it that you want?” Kurt asked cautiously.

“How about blinking me up a girlfriend, huh? Someone cute, fit, not too smart? I kind of like ‘em on the dim side.”

“I’m sorry Santana, but I can’t make someone love you.”

“Love? Weren’t you listening to my song? I don’t wanna fall in love. I had love with my high school girlfriend and where’d that get me?” Santana began to weep, dropping her face down low over her half-finished beer. “Alone in this stupid karaoke bar with you losers, that’s where. I don’t need love. I just…ugh, I just need to get _laid_. You can help me with that, can’t you Kurt? It’s been soooo long. Please?”

“OK, you’ve officially had enough to drink,” Blaine announced, reaching over and swapping out Santana’s beer for a glass of water. “She gets like this when she’s drunk,” he murmured to Kurt. “It’s about the only time I ever see her cry.”

“What good is a genie that can’t grant simple wishes, huh?” Both Kurt and Blaine shh’d her urgently as her voice raised a little above the music and she held up her hands in surrender. “OK, OK. No love, no sex. Got it.” She paused for another moment before adding “How about a really comfortable pair of high heels? Now _that_ would be magic.” She started laughing into her water, the moment of emotional vulnerability over.

Rachel and Finn joined them before Kurt could reply and he decided the matter was better discussed when Santana had sobered up anyways. Blaine was making noises about it being time to leave, so Kurt took the opportunity to pull him up out of his chair towards the stage.

“Come on, I signed us up for one last duet. This looks like a pretty accepting crowd, so I picked one of your favorite songs.”

They climbed up onto the stage and grabbed their microphones and waited for the next song to begin. When it did Blaine raised his eyebrows in surprise. “’Bring On the Men’ from _Jekyll & Hyde_? It’s not really a common Broadway song. I’m surprised it was on the song list.”

Kurt just gave him an impish grin and looked over towards the employee who was in charge of the karaoke set-up, who was currently staring at his computer in confusion. “It isn’t.”


	13. Chapter 13

Kurt would never have pegged Blaine as having a sadistic streak, so he was slightly surprised when he suggested that they pay a little visit to Rachel, who was nursing a massive hangover from the night before. Kurt had just been finishing up a magical dry cleaning job on his clothes from the night before when Blaine came into his room with an impish look on his face. He asked Kurt to grab his tablet computer and follow him over to Rachel’s room, where they opened the door to find her laying on a chaise lounge near the window, arm thrown dramatically up over her head, eyes covered by a cold towel. Blaine backed out of the room and picked up the tablet to perform a quick search. A few moments later he raised a finger to his lips in a ‘shushing’ motion and tiptoed into the room towards the prone girl. He looked back at Kurt with an innocent smile before holding the tablet close to her head and pressing his finger to the screen.

Almost immediately loud heavy metal music began blaring from the device. Rachel screamed in terror, jumping so high she fell off the far side of the lounge. She reared up, yelling at Blaine at the top of her lungs, before dropping back with a groan, a hand to her head. “Oh god, just kill me now.”

“Why Rachel, whatever could be the problem? I know you can’t have a hangover, because you’re just 18. The two drinks I saw you with last night were the only ones you had, right? Isn’t that what you told me?”

“Blaine Anderson, if I strained my vocal chords yelling at you just now I will never forgive you. You might not care if you damage your instrument, but I treat my voice like the national treasure it is.”

“Ooh, deflection and avoidance. I’ll take that as a sign of guilt.”

It took almost an hour and a whole pot of coffee before they got Rachel mobile enough to join them in the theater for a Julie Andrews marathon. They had finished _The Sound of Music_ and _Thoroughly Modern Millie_ and were almost through with _Victor/Victoria_ when they were surprised by Helen coming into the room. In all the time that Kurt had been staying with the Andersons Helen had never joined them to watch a movie and hadn’t really spent a lot of time with Kurt in general, so he was surprised when she chose to sit in the chair next to him, smiling over at him as she took her seat. He returned the smile and offered her a bowl of popcorn, which she accepted.

“This is one of my favorite musicals,” she whispered, leaning towards him so she wouldn’t disturb the others. “I just love Julie Andrews in this.”

Kurt leaned in a little too, bring their heads close together. “Me too,” he agreed. “Don’t you think Blaine looks a lot like James Garner? They’re both so dapper and handsome.”

Helen craned her head to look over at her son, who was at that moment stuffing his mouth overly full with popcorn. “Definitely, though I always thought he looked a bit like Burt Reynolds too.”

Kurt choked back a laugh and returned his attention to the screen, happy for the little unexpected moment.

When the movie finished, Helen turned to Kurt nervously and cleared her throat. “Kurt, I wanted to tell you how much I loved the dress you made for Rachel. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look lovelier.” She cast a fond look towards the girl, who smiled hugely at the compliment. “Blaine told me that you also have some designs for ball gowns and I-I was wondering if you’d like to design a dress for me for the upcoming charity ball we’re hosting? I know it’s a lot of work, so please, feel free to say no, but—”

“Helen,” Kurt interrupted, “I’d be honored. In fact, I think I have a few designs already done that would look wonderful on you.” He was flushed with excitement and could barely control himself. “Would you like to see them?”

All four of them made their way up to Kurt’s room to look through his designs. The theme for the ball was ‘Theatricality’, so Kurt’s eye-catching style was a perfect fit. It soon became apparent that the only problem with Kurt designing a dress for Helen was going to be her indecision in choosing just one. Rachel of course wanted a dress too, so she and Helen poured over the sketches again and again. Once they had narrowed their choices down to just a few they started to work with him on customizing the designs to their bodies and preferences.

******

Blaine didn’t participate much in the dress selection, just giving his opinion on a design whenever it was asked of him, but he was filled with happiness and couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight of his three favorite people in the world finally bonding. He couldn’t believe that Rachel and his mom had finally realized how wonderful Kurt was and how much he had to offer. He was also glad that Kurt was finally able to see the warm loving sides of his family and not just the suspicion and icy politeness that had been sent his way.

When Helen and Kurt fell into a playful argument about the merits of feathers and lace Blaine slipped down stairs to get snacks for them all. When he reached the kitchen he was surprised to find that Rachel had followed him.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Kurt?”

“I-I’m not sure I know what you mean,” he stuttered, setting the bowl he was holding down on the counter behind him.

“Come on, don’t play dumb. It’s obvious you have feelings for him. Whenever you’re together all you do is stare at him making heart eyes. When are you going to make your move?”

“It’s not that simple. Life’s complicated right now and Kurt is…he’s my best friend and I don’t want to mess that up by trying to take our relationship in a direction neither one of us is ready for.”

“But —“

“Rachel, trust me. This is for the best.”

“Fine. Be lonely forever. See if I care.” She began to walk out of the room, turning just as she was about to disappear from sight. “I’m going over to Finn’s so we’ll just meet you guys at the restaurant tonight, OK?”

“What? Restaurant?”

“Finn and I are taking you and Kurt out for dinner? Spiaggia? 7 o’clock?” Rachel stamped her foot at Blaine’s blank expression. “Ugh, you never listen to me! Typical. I just—”

“OK, OK! 7 o’clock. We’ll meet you there. Calm down.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “See you then.”

Blaine went back to working on the snacks and didn’t see Rachel’s calculating look as she pulled out her phone and typed in _Spiaggia reservations_.

******

Kurt and Blaine arrived at the restaurant a little before 7 and headed over to the maître d. They were led to an intimate table for two and when Blaine protested that the reservation should have been for four he was told that, no, this was the correct reservation. Just as they sat down Blaine’s phone buzzed with a message from Rachel.

_Sorry! Finn and I aren’t able to make it. I didn’t want to ruin your evening, so I changed the reservation to a table for two. Enjoy and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! ;)_

Blaine looked up at Kurt with a rueful expression. “I think we’ve been had. Rachel and Finn aren’t coming and I don’t think they ever were.”

“Why not?” Kurt questioned, his puzzlement evident on his face.

“I think this is Rachel’s attempt at matchmaking. I’m really sorry, Kurt. I told her we’re just friends, but she obviously doesn’t listen to me.”

“Well, that’s what little sisters are for, right? Or little sister-like cousins. Don’t worry about it. Now that we’re here let’s enjoy the evening.”

They ordered dinner from the hovering waiter and chatted about the progress on the dress selection until their food arrived.

“I was thinking that we need to take a trip to New York,” Blaine stated, taking a bite of his meal. “I can take a few days off from work the first week of April so we could have three full days there. Do you think you’d be able to get some time off?”

“Probably. Sue’s going to be on a business trip the last part of that week, so I think things will be slow around the office.” Kurt clapped his hands in excitement. “Oh, I can’t wait! I want to see the Empire State Building and Lincoln Center and Central Park and MOMA and—“

“Whoa, whoa! We don’t have to see it all on this one trip, you know. There’ll be other chances.”

“Will there?” Kurt asked shyly.

“Of course, why wouldn’t there be?”

Kurt paused for a moment, looking down at his lap to gather his courage. “This is working, right?”

“What is?”

“Me. The way I am. The way I’m using my powers. It’s working, right? For you?”

“Of course, it’s working, Kurt.” Blaine leaned forward with an earnest pleading expression. “I’m more sorry than you’ll ever know that I made you doubt yourself.”

“No, I understand. I sprung all this on you and you needed time to adjust. I get that. I just…I’m really happy with the compromise we’ve got going and I just wanted to make sure it was still working for you.”

“Absolutely. It’s actually kind of fun seeing where the magic will pop up and if it makes you happy it makes me happy. It’ll all be fine as long as you keep trying to be discreet and just…”

“Be careful with the roses?”

“Be careful with the roses.”

******

It was late by the time they surfaced from their conversation and Blaine realized they should be leaving before the waiter started giving them dirty looks. Though he would go to his grave denying it to her, he was glad that Rachel had tricked them into going out. It seemed like each time they allowed themselves to spend time alone together they grew a little closer, understood each other a little bit more.

He was feeling peaceful and a little introspective, but it seemed Kurt was feeling differently. Blaine had been giving Kurt refresher driving lessons, so Kurt was in the driver’s seat that night. As they stopped at a light, Kurt gunned the Corvette’s engine, flashing Blaine a wicked smile and waggling his eyebrows as if threatening to drag race the car next to him. Blaine widened his eyes in disbelief, torn between being a little excited and a little scared at the prospect. Kurt gunned the engine again, getting ready, but when the light changed he let out the clutch slowly, driving away from the light at a snail’s pace. The sounds of horse hooves hitting the pavement filled the car out of nowhere, as if they were in a horse and buggy, and Blaine collapsed in his seat, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Yep, each time he spent time with Kurt he understood him a little more.

By the time they got home and pulled into the garage they were still laughing. Kurt parked the car in its normal space and they took a few minutes to pull the cover over it. As they walked out, Kurt reached over to turn off the light and they were cast into near darkness. Blaine looked at him, wondering how he could be so beautiful, even in the dim light. He tentatively wrapped an arm around Kurt’s waist and pulled him in for a hug. They stood like that for a few minutes, just resting against each other. Finally Blaine pulled back, but when he caught another look at Kurt’s face his breath hitched. Why was he fighting this? Suddenly he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He leaned forward, slowly bringing his face closer to Kurt’s, but just before their lips touched Kurt pulled back and Blaine dropped his arm away, afraid he had made the wrong move.

“I’m sorry, Kurt. I didn’t mean…”

“No, no, don’t be sorry. I just…god. I just don’t know what I’m doing. All my years on earth and I’m still so completely awkward and inexperienced with this kind of stuff.”

“There’s been nothing? Not a kiss or anything?”

“I never had a connection who might feel that way about me and it wasn’t anything I ever felt that comfortable with, so I never sought it out.” Kurt sounded so sad that Blaine pulled him back into a hug, though this one was only meant to comfort. “I love the idea of romance, but I told you how dangerous it is for genies to fall in love. I’ve always been too scared to take that chance and the idea of doing…that…without love never interested me. Do you hate me?”

“What? Never! I could never hate you. Your friendship means everything to me. Hey,” he whispered, reaching out to lift Kurt’s chin so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Please don’t feel bad. We’re good. We are so good. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Kurt gave a tremulous smile and ducked his head again.

“Come on, let’s head in. I’m sure Rachel and mom have left you a stack of notes about their dresses and you’ll need some sleep if you’re going to keep your patience when you read them.”

******

Surprisingly, things didn’t get awkward with Blaine after what Kurt was calling the ‘near miss kiss’. Kurt went down to breakfast Monday morning expecting something to be different, but he was greeted with the same open smile, the same teasing banter, and the same casual touches on the hand that Blaine had for him every morning. He was beyond pleased that their friendship wasn’t affected, but he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that the evening’s events had gotten him thinking. Was he ready to stop being just a spectator when it came to romance? Was Blaine someone he could see himself falling in love with? Was he willing to take that risk? There were so many questions running through his head that he found it hard to sleep and found himself distracted at work.

Maybe it was because he had love and romance on the brain, but a few days after the ‘near miss kiss’ Kurt was sitting outside Sue’s office, scheduling models for some designer go-sees, when he noticed something odd: It was quiet in Sue’s office. Now, that in itself wasn’t so strange, but Sue was meeting with the building superintendent, Rod Remington, who had come in to hear some complaints she had about the building. From experience, Kurt knew that meetings where Sue aired her grievances were never quiet, yet today he could hear nothing.

Concerned that maybe Sue had killed Rod and was trying to dispose of the body (or vice versa), he crept up to the door and placed his ear against it.

“Can’t you just magic-up your ears and do that from your desk?” Santana cracked from directly behind him, setting his heart racing.

“Shh,” he warned, pulling her away from the door and back to his desk. “Sue’s in there with the Mr. Remington.” Santana just looked at him blankly. “And she isn’t yelling.”

“God, did she kill him?” she snorted.

Just then the door opened and Sue and Rod came out. Kurt and Santana immediately turned to look at his desk, pretending to be in the middle of discussing the go-see schedule. They listened in amazement as Sue politely thanked Rod for his time and told him she was looking forward to hearing from him regarding his progress on addressing her concerns. She watched him leave with a wistful expression before turning back to her office. Her strange mood lasted only a few minutes, though and she was soon back to rampaging around the office as usual.

At lunch time Santana did an end-run around a group of women who were dithering outside of Kurt’s office, trying to decide who would ask him to join them for lunch.

“You snooze, you lose, ladies,” she called out as she headed towards the elevator with Kurt on her arm.

They grabbed the last table at their favorite café and started to analyze Sue’s uncharacteristic behavior.

“Maybe she’s just softening up,” Kurt suggested, taking a sip of his diet Coke.

“Ha! Doubtful. That woman came out of the womb criticizing the doctor for what he did wrong during the delivery. More likely it’s a brain tumor. Or maybe hormone replacement therapy.”

“I don’t know. The look on her face when she watched Rod walk away… Do you think maybe she likes him?”

“Even if she does, you saw how quickly she reverted back to breathing fire. Her pining after him isn’t going to do us any good. In order for us to turn her from a Dementor into a human being the impossible has to happen.” She paused dramatically, widening her eyes for effect. “He has to like her back.”

Kurt considered her statement for a moment. “I can’t make him fall in love, but there may be some things I can do to push things in the right direction. We need to come up with a plan.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love hatching an underhanded plot? ‘Operation: Sue-mance’ is now underway.”

******

‘Operation: Sue-mance’ started out slowly, with Kurt and Santana first attempting to see how receptive Rod was to interacting with Sue. Two days after their lunch Kurt saw to it that a package meant for Sue was mistakenly delivered to Rod’s office. Instead of calling up to the agency to have an assistant come by to get the box, Rod delivered it to Sue himself. Kurt took that as an encouraging sign.

The next day, while Kurt and Tina were in Sue’s office giving her last minute updates on some upcoming projects the large window in Sue’s office mysteriously cracked. Kurt helpfully offered to put a call into the building superintendent’s office to have it fixed. Rod himself appeared to survey the damage and spent several minutes setting up the time for the repairs with Sue and Tina. Sue behaved herself for at least a half hour after that encounter.

As Kurt was concocting situations that brought Sue and Rod together physically, Santana concentrated on making sure they were on each other’s minds at other times. Phase one involved simply bring up Sue’s name around Rod and vice versa, even if the names weren’t used in context. She and Kurt followed Rod to lunch one day and talked loudly about going to see SUE the dinosaur at the Field Museum and they had a lively discussion about hot rods outside Sue’s office when her door was open. They also made sure to bring the other person up casually in conversation as much as possible whenever they were around either one of them.

Phase two involved telling complimentary stories about the other person. It was easy enough in Rod’s case. They simply made sure to mention to Sue how helpful Rod had been with the requested fixes around the office, how nice he was, how good he was at this job. It was a little tougher to find nice things to say about Sue. Kurt had been adamant that they not lie to Rod in order to get the two together, so Santana had to resort to some creative compliments. Walking by Rod’s office she commented loudly on how well the agency was doing and what a dynamic business woman Sue was, being careful to not mention her personality. She even got creative and convinced a couple of the guys in the office to follow Rod into the restroom and have a conversation about how Sue had signed the company up to be a major sponsor for a half-marathon a local charity was putting on and how the agency matched employee charitable donations.

A week into their plan Sue’s left front tire suddenly went flat as she was driving out of the parking garage. Thankfully, she happened to be driving right by Rod at that moment and he stopped to offer help. That flat tire earned the office an entire day of ‘pleasant Sue’.

By the middle of the second week, Kurt was frustrated. Though he was getting Sue and Rod together quite often, the length of each interaction was pretty short and they weren’t taking any initiative themselves to move beyond those meetings. Kurt was going to have to find a way to get them to spend a longer amount of time together, hopefully without others interrupting, and it had to be soon. If things continued the way they were Rod was going to start thinking Sue was accident prone or actually causing the problems herself. Finally, inspiration hit while he and Blaine were watching old episodes of _Grey’s Anatomy_. He noted how often the characters worked through their problems or spent time with other characters in the elevator. Hmm…the elevator. He could work with that.

On Friday morning Kurt was ready to make his move. He looked at Sue’s schedule for the day and calculated when she would be leaving for her mid-day cleanse with her nutritionist. He set up a meeting with Rod to talk about assigning new parking spaces to some employees and set it to end just as Sue would be leaving. He watched from around the corner as they got on the elevator alone. As the doors closed he smiled and turned back to his desk, little bursts of color exploding in the eyes.

Rod’s team of mechanics worked for the next two hours to get the elevator unstuck and they were baffled as to why none of their repairs were working. There just didn’t seem to be any reason why the elevator had stopped mid-descent. Finally the car began moving again on its own and returned to the 25th floor. When the door opened the two people inside were slow to leave. Kurt and Santana watched through the glass doors of the agency, spying on the couple as the finally exited. Sue was a little flushed and was passing Rod shy little glances that were very uncharacteristic. Rod turned to Sue and touched her hand and they distinctively heard him say that he would pick her up at 8 o’clock that night and that she should bring her dancing shoes. Sue smiled widely as she watched him head off to the stairs and Kurt and Santana shared a silent high-five.

Everyone in the office was amazed when ‘pleasant Sue’ appeared in the office again on Monday and was still around by the time Sue left for her business trip Tuesday afternoon.

******

Wednesday was a slow one at the agency, so Kurt took the opportunity to take a half-day and run some last minute errands before he and Blaine left on their trip to New York the next morning. When he finished he realized he was in the neighborhood of A Stitch in Time, so he decided to drop in and see Artie. When he walked in he noticed a few of the improvements he had suggested for the store had been made and was pleased that Artie had been able to put the money he had secretly sent him to good use.

Artie was with a customer, so Kurt gave him a friendly wave and started to wander around the store, examining the new merchandise. A display of vases caught his eye and he moved closer, thinking that the one in back would look excellent on one of the side tables in the Anderson’s formal living room. As he reached to pick up the vase he saw a glint out of the corner of his eye. The vase forgotten, he moved over to another display shelf and pushed a large candlestick to the side, exposing the object behind it fully.

It was a samovar. Simpler in design than his own, it had a dull golden sheen and was decorated with slightly faded red and green designs. The spout was the most distinctive part, raising up as a graceful neck and ending with the head of a swan with its mouth open. Kurt’s heart thudded in this chest and his breath caught in this throat. It couldn’t be. He knew this samovar. He looked around the store desperately. He had to do something. He had to get someone to the store immediately to help him, but who? He thought for a moment then reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He thumbed through his contact list until he found the number he was looking for. With a deep breath he opened a new text message.

_Are you busy? I need your help…_

Half an hour later, Kurt was talking with Artie at the front desk, keeping one eye on the samovar, when the bell rang over the door.

“This had better be good, Sir Prance-alot. I was in the middle of dangling the idea of me returning to law school in front of my father and you know how I hate to leave a good torture session unfinished.” Santana sauntered into the store, tossing her purse on the counter.

Kurt made a quick introduction between Artie and Santana, thankful when another customer entered and pulled Artie’s attention away. He led Santana to the back of the store to where the samovar awaited. “I know this is a lot to ask, believe me, but you’re the only one who can help. It’s just that you already know about…so you’re the only one…I have to do something.”

“You’re going to have to finish as least one sentence if you want me to…” Santana’s voice faded out as Kurt stepped aside, exposing the samovar to her view. She stood silently for a few moments, as if in a trance, before stepping closer. She lifted a hand to touch it, but pulled back before contact was made. She was quiet for so long that Kurt was beginning to worry that he had made a mistake when she suddenly turned around and called out to Artie, “Hey Professor X! Wrap this up for me. I’ll take it.”

It took only 20 minutes for them to reach Santana’s house. She swept in through the door, followed by Kurt who was carrying the wrapped package. He set it down on the table in the living room and Santana dropped to her knees next to it to watch as he slowly removed the bubble wrap, uncovering the samovar bit-by-bit. When it was completely unwrapped he moved back and raised his gaze to meet hers. She reached forward and with a deep breath rubbed it with her thumb.

At once the air above the samovar began to shimmer. Kurt and Santana both held their breaths as a form began to appear, stretching and moving languidly before drifting down to the floor. The figure turned its head, glimpsing Kurt, who was still kneeling by the table. “Kurt! I can’t believe it’s you! I’ve missed you so much. Have you seen Lord Tubbington?”


	14. Chapter 14

Brittany was confused and disoriented when she emerged from the samovar, as it had been quite a while since she had last been in the world. Kurt explained to Santana that Brittany had always been a bit odd, but she also had the misfortune of being one of the genies who had gone once so long without a connection that it had damaged her permanently. The resulting quirks in her personality made it harder for her to have a successful connection, since most people didn’t have the patience to deal with her. This led to few connections, which only resulted in further damage. Kurt had watched the vicious cycle with sorrow, but there was nothing he could do. When he saw the samovar in the shop he knew he couldn’t just leave her there and had thought that maybe with Santana there was the possibility of a long term connection that would allow Brittany to heal some. Thankfully, Santana seemed taken with Brittany right away, and, of course, already believed, so the connection had been made.

Kurt was a little reluctant to leave that night, especially since he would be out of town with Blaine in New York for several days. He didn’t want to leave them alone so soon after the connection was made, but Santana told him that they needed to get to know each other on their own and didn’t need a “genie sitter”.

He rushed home and told Blaine about what had happened, wondering how he would react. One genie in his life was adventure enough, so how would he feel about two? Blaine listened to Kurt’s description of Brittany with tears in his eyes and assured him that he had done the right thing.

“Kurt, you have the biggest heart of anyone I know and I’d expect nothing less from you. Brittany’s so lucky to have you as a friend and so is Santana. This might just be the kick in the butt she needs to get her life back on track. I think they’ll be good for each other.”

******

The next morning, they left bright and early to fly to New York. Kurt was nearly vibrating with excitement by the time the city skyline was visible from the plane window, crying out with joy when he saw the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty for the first time. Since they had flown on a private plane, it only took moments to gather their luggage and make their way to a waiting town car. Kurt sat with his nose pressed against the window, not wanting to miss a moment of their trip into the city. As they approached the Queens Midtown Tunnel the skyscrapers appeared in the distance and he began to point out each one to Blaine as he recognized them.

 “I’m surprised with all you’ve seen that you still get excited about stuff like this,” Blaine commented, enjoying Kurt’s enthusiasm.

“I’ve wanted to come here for over 150 years, but it’s never worked out. I’m glad though, because it just means that I get to see it for the first time with you and that makes it all the more special.”

Blaine choked up a little at Kurt’s declaration, so in response all he could do was reach over and pat his hand.

Their driver easily navigated the mid-morning Manhattan traffic and they were pulling up in front of The Plaza hotel in no time. Kurt clutched Blaine’s arm in shock when he realized where they were staying and he didn’t release his grip until they were shown to the Plaza Suite on the 17th floor and the door closed behind them.

“The Plaza? We’re seriously staying at The Plaza? I can’t believe this.” Kurt rushed into the living room, took one look at the Louis XV furnishings and spun around in a perfect pirouette, with his arms crossed over his chest. “Look at this place! It’s gorgeous!”

Blaine confirmed that the butler had placed Kurt’s luggage into the master bedroom and Blaine’s into the 2nd bedroom then joined Kurt in the living room to spend a few minutes looking out the window down at the bustling people on 5th Avenue. “OK, enough watching other people enjoy New York. It’s time for us to do some enjoying for ourselves. I was thinking today we’d take care of some of the major items on your list. Ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple?”

******

Blaine let out a quiet groan as he slid into his seat at the theater, thankful to finally be resting his tired feet. He couldn’t remember the last time he had walked so much. They had spent hours in Central Park, roaming the pathways with no clear destination in mind, before walking up to Times Square and soaking in the perpetual bustle of activity there. Throughout the day they had sampled different foods from street vendors and neither of them was particularly interested in a full meal, so they had settled instead for huge slices of cheesecake at Juniors. Kurt had taken one bite, declared that all other cheesecakes were now dead to him and vowed from then on to only eat the treat in New York.

They had returned to their hotel room with just enough time to change and walk back down to the theater. When Blaine had been planning the trip he had asked Kurt what shows he wanted to see, but Kurt had wanted to be surprised. Blaine knew right away the one musical they absolutely had to see, but since they had planned on going to the theater twice during their stay he still had to pick a second show. He had thought long and hard and decided to pick one that he hadn’t seen either, so that both of them could have a new experience. Since they both loved Disney he decided to go with _Mary Poppins_.

As they left the theater after the show, Kurt looked thoughtful and slightly bemused. “Do you know who’s original story this is based on?”

“I’m not sure.” Blaine pulled out his phone and did a quick internet search. “It says here the story was written by P.L. Travers.”

“I knew him and…I’m pretty Mary Poppins is based on a genie friend of mine. She was connected to Travers at the time and he must have been inspired because some of the things in that play…they really happened.”

“You’re saying Mary Poppins was a genie?” Blaine stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Well, her name wasn’t Mary, it was Holly. She was nowhere near as strict as Mary, but kids loved her. She would dress up in costumes and tell wild stories and sing. She used to say ‘It’s a jolly holiday with Holly.’”

“Does this happen often? Real life genies making it into books and such, I mean? Am I going to have to wonder about every character from my childhood? Peter Pan? Alice in Wonderland? Willie Wonka?

“I think your childhood memories are safe. This is the only instance of genie inspired kid lit that I know of.” Kurt pulled at Blaine’s hand, urging him further down the street. “Come on, I’m starving. What can we find to eat at this time of night?”

They stopped for a slice of pizza at a tiny little whole-in-the-wall restaurant and stood at the counter to eat their greasy slices of heaven.

“Blaine,” Kurt mumbled around his mouthful of pizza, “Will you hate me if I tell you I like this better than the Chicago style?”

“Of course not, but mainly because I kinda agree with you.”

“Good, because I’m telling you right now, if the guy who made this pizza believes in magic I might be making a new connection here. In fact…” Kurt turned and made as if he was going to approach the cook standing at the pizza oven.

“No way,” Blaine cried, grabbing Kurt’s hand and pulling him back to counter, “I’ll buy this place and take it and all of the people who work here back to Chicago before I’d let that happen.”

“Ah, so romantic. I love it when you’re jealous.” When Kurt realized what he had just said he blushed and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Come on Money Bags. I want to see Times Square at night.”

Blaine swallowed his last bite of pizza and followed, thinking about how Kurt had called him romantic.

******

Their first day in New York had been about introducing Kurt to some of the iconic areas of the city, but their second day was devoted to shopping. Kurt woke up early and was bounding around the suite as if it was Christmas morning. Blaine barely had time to finish his morning bagel before he was being dragged out of the hotel to 5th Avenue.

As they exited onto the street they could see the horse drawn carriages by the park waiting to pick up tourists. As they passed, Kurt scowled a little and looked like he was about to say something, but Blaine cut him off. “No, I haven’t planned for us to take a carriage ride. I’ve met you, remember?” Kurt sent him a pleased smile, though his eyes still held a touch of sorrow from looking at the sad looking horses. Blaine made a mental note to make a donation to the movement that was attempting to find more humane alternatives to the horse drawn carriages.

The first stop on their shopping excursion was FAO Schwartz, right across the street from The Plaza. They wandered the aisles and basically acted like children for an hour. They had a mock sword fight upstairs next to the large windows before wandering through the huge Lego creations on their way to the oversized floor piano. They played Chopsticks on the piano just like in the movie, though nowhere near as successfully, and ended up in a tangled heap on the floor, laughing hysterically. Kurt bought Blaine a stuffed dog that he named Margaret Thatcher Dog and Blaine bought him a stuffed cat that was wearing an expression of disdain on its face that Blaine could have sworn was modeled off of Kurt.

They left the store and headed up the street in the direction of the designer stores. Blaine could see Kurt figuratively rolling up his sleeves as if preparing for battle. The stores weren’t going to know what hit them.

Blaine had a sense of déjà vu all day and it was finally in the fifth store that he realized why everything felt so familiar. It was if they were reenacting the shopping scene from _Pretty Woman_. They would enter a store and the sales people would immediately fawn all over them as soon as they found out who Blaine was. Kurt whirled through outfit after outfit as Blaine watched on, usually drinking some coffee or sparkling water that had been offered to him. He’d nod his support of some ensembles and indicate his ambivalence to others then watch as purchases were rung up. The only difference from the movie was that Kurt was paying for his own clothes. Well, that wasn’t the only difference. He didn’t remember the sales people flirting with Julia Roberts the way that they were flirting with Kurt.

The first time it happened was amusing. The manager at Versace had come out to wait on them himself and then proceeded to practically drool all over Kurt. The second and third times were not as funny and by the fourth time Blaine was ready to throw something through a window. They had taken a car over to the Alexander McQueen store and Kurt was on his way to try on several pieced when Blaine had to practically restrain the salesman to keep him from following Kurt into the dressing room. He glared at the man and proceeded to stand guard outside the door, trying to avoid analyzing why this was upsetting him so much.

His mood wasn’t the best as they drove back towards the hotel and Kurt noticed. “I’m sorry. We haven’t really gone anywhere that’s your style, have we? I’m being selfish.” He leaned forward and gave the driver a new destination. In no time at all they were pulling up in front of Brooks Brothers and Kurt was pulling him out of the car. “Come on, I’ve been dying to dress you up like a paper doll.”

They wandered the store for a bit and Kurt let him pick the first round of clothes to try on. He disappeared into the dressing room and came back out wearing the first outfit, striking a pose for Kurt. “How about this?”

“Oh my god, Blaine. A bowtie _and_ suspenders? You look like a high school nerd looking to do someone's calculus homework.”

He disappeared back into the dressing room and emerged a few minutes later in a new look. “This?”

“Um, it’s a little too bad boy for me. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good leather jacket, but this is way too ‘juvenile delinquent’. I don't think that’s the right one.”

“This?”

“Elbow patches? Hello, Professor Anderson.”

“This?”

“Blaine, are you trying to look like a pirate? You just need an eye patch to complete the look. Take it off before someone else sees you.”

“This?”

“Ok, you’re just messing with me now, aren't you? That looks like a private school uniform. I feel like we should be walking to class and complaining about the headmaster. OK, enough. Stand aside and let an expert handle this.”

Kurt disappeared into the store and returned a few minutes later carrying an armful of clothes. “Here try these on.”

Blaine changed and came back out to show Kurt, this time doing a little dramatic cat walk down the hallway.

“Cute! I think we have a winner. You should wear that tonight.”

By the end of the day they were both exhausted, but each had new ensembles to wear that evening. All day long they had been paying to have their purchases delivered to the hotel, so when they arrived back in the room they found the correct packages and sent the new clothes off with the butler to be pressed.

There was still an hour left before they needed to head off to their dinner reservation, so Kurt blockaded himself in the master bathroom and filled the claw footed tub so that he could take a bubble bath. Having already experienced how long it took Kurt to get ready to go out, Blaine watched TV for a bit before heading down to the lobby on a secret mission. When Kurt emerged from the bathroom, dressed and coifed to perfection, Blaine was standing just outside the door, holding two cups of steaming coffee.

“You are a prince among men,” Kurt declared, taking one of the cups from him and inhaling deeply. “Disney will base their next prince upon you and little woodland creatures will sing an ode to your generosity. And your hair. A song of generosity and hair.”

After dinner Blaine led the way to the theater. Kurt still didn’t know what show they were seeing, so Blaine watched closely as they turned the corner and the sign for _Wicked_ rose up before them. Kurt let out a delighted cry and clasped his hands together at his chin, bouncing up and down on his toes.

“I can’t believe it! How did you know?”

“Well, I peeked at your iTunes and if the listen counts are to be believed this is by far the soundtrack you like the most, so it wasn’t a hard decision.”

Kurt reached over to tuck his arm into Blaine’s and pulled him in closer as they joined the line to present their tickets. Once inside they headed up the escalator and made their way into the theater, where the usher directed them to their seats in the middle of the eighth row.

Kurt’s eyes widened when he saw their seat location and just shook his head. ”I don’t know why I’m surprised,” he whispered, “One would think you were the one with the magic, the way you pull this stuff off.”

The show passed quickly and soon the curtain was coming down after the final bow. Blaine looked over at Kurt to see him surreptitiously wiping tears from his eyes. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and offered it silently.

Kurt took the offered cloth gratefully, dabbing his eyes, and snuffling quietly. “That was so sad. Being green isn’t that big of a deal. Why did people have to act that way?”

“Ah, don’t be sad. Didn’t you like it?”

“Are you kidding? I _loved_ it.” Kurt gripped his program to his chest as if he could absorb the details of the show into this body. “I think that may be the single best thing I have ever seen.”

“Phew! I’m glad you said that, because I have a surprise for you.”

Blaine led the way out of the theater and around to the stage door, where he gave his name to the guard, who spoke into his headset for a second before opening the door and ushering Kurt and Blaine inside. There they were met by a stage manager who led them up to meet the members of the cast. Kurt squeaked with delight when he met the actresses playing Glinda and Elphaba and within moments they were deep in a conversation about the intricacies of the show and their characters. When the conversation turned to the high notes that Elphaba had to hit during ‘Defying Gravity’ and what the actress did to preserve her voice Blaine felt compelled to mention that Kurt was able to hit the same high note.

His declaration was met with a little bit of skepticism from the actors and a lot of embarrassment from Kurt, who tried to end the conversation and exit gracefully. His attempts were in vain, though as he was pulled along by the women towards the stage to show off this amazing skill. They got the stage manager to cue up a pre-recorded version of the music and moved to the side of the stage, leaving Kurt in the center. He took a deep breath and with one last look at Blaine started singing. As the song went on more and more people appeared in the wings, drawn to the stage by the mesmerizing voice. When he hit the high note a gasp went out amongst everyone gathered and amazed glances were exchanged. When the song finished those watching gave him a standing ovation and he curtsied in thanks before running over to Blaine.

“You amaze me,” Blaine admired. “You just knocked all these Broadway vets out of their socks.”

Kurt just smiled, still a little overwhelmed at the experience of singing on a Broadway stage. The stage manager approached them again to finish up their tour and they were soon saying their goodbyes and heading out the stage door. Kurt’s outfit was topped off by a knee length jacket, but it was lightweight, so he shivered a bit as they hit the cool night air. Blaine, who was wearing a warm sweater, held out his coat and wrapped it around Kurt’s shoulders.

Kurt reached up and grabbed the lapels, pulling the coat a little closer. “Thanks, but you know I could just conjure up —“

“Hey, you’re ruining my chivalrous moment here. Take the coat.”

“My apologies, oh gallant prince.” Kurt smiled, drawing the coat even tighter around him.

Blaine glanced over to give him a grin and noticed that the coat looked a little different than it had the moment before. “Wait, something’s... did you…did you just make my coat larger?” He reached out to grab at one of the dangling sleeves.

Kurt laughed and dodged Blaine’s hand. “I kind of had to. You’re so little I wouldn’t be able to get it around my shoulders otherwise.”

Blaine stopped in his tracks and bristled with indignation, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. “I’m not that…you’re just…hey!”

Kurt laughed even harder and had to lean up against a building to hold himself up. He was so caught that he didn’t hear Blaine walk away, so he was surprised to hear his name being called from the corner.

“Come on Kurt. I’ve got one last surprise for tonight.” Kurt hurried over to where Blaine had hailed a cab and they both slid into the backseat.

Within minutes they were pulling up to a new location. Blaine stepped out onto the sidewalk first and turned around to lend Kurt a hand to help him out of the cab.

When Kurt saw where they were his expression lit up. “The Empire State Building?”

“I’ve always thought the views were best at night,” Blaine said, leading Kurt into the building and towards the elevators. He had already purchased tickets, so they were able to bypass the line and were soon whizzing their way up to the observation deck.

The entire city, in all its glory, was laid out before them. They walked completely around the deck to get the 360 degree view before coming to a stop on the side looking out towards Central Park.

“When I first moved to New York this was one of the first things I did. It just seemed so iconic, you know? Like being up here was going to somehow make me a real New Yorker,” Blaine shook his head, leaning up against the wall. “Too many movies, I guess. In reality it’s definitely a tourist thing, but it made me feel like part of the city, like I belonged.”

Kurt leaned against his side, looping their arms together. “That’s all that matters. How it made you feel. I’ve spent my whole life granting wishes for people who were just looking to fit in, to feel a part of something. Money, success, fame — none of it can make you feel like you belong, in the end. If you find something that makes you feel that way you need to grab on to it and hold on.”

Blaine felt Kurt’s hand tighten on his arm and he wondered if he knew how his actions were mirroring his words. He covered Kurt’s hand with his and just kept gazing out at the city lights, thinking over what Kurt had said. When something makes you feel like you belong, grab on to it and hold on. Yes, words to live by.

******

The next morning Blaine kept up his string of surprises with front row tickets to a fashion show of an up-and-coming designer. Kurt could barely contain his excitement at the news and he rushed over to give Blaine a big hug before running off to his room to plan his outfit. He was familiar with the designer, whose style involved mixing casual and formal pieces, so Kurt worked to find an outfit that would complement that style without looking like he was trying to compete with it. He finally decided on a supple lightweight black leather jacket over a simple white shirt, gray waistcoat, and black tie with white polka dots. He finished it off with dark washed skinny jeans and black leather boots to keep it from looking too dressy. He teased his hair up extra high and swirled the ends in a bit of a wave for some drama that seemed appropriate for the occasion. He was still perfecting the style when Blaine called out that their car had arrived.

Though the show wasn’t during New York’s famous Fashion Week, it still drew a lot of star power and the press was out in force covering the arrival of the guests. Blaine was recognized by several photographers who called out to him as they took his photo. Kurt tried to move out of the way, but Blaine kept pulling him closer, making sure he was in all the photos and introducing him as “Designer Kurt Hummel” when asked for a name.

“Why are you introducing me as a designer?” Kurt hissed in Blaine’s ear as they made their way to their seats next to the runway.

“Isn’t that what you are? You’ve been trying to find your perfect fit all this time and it’s been right in front of you, Kurt. Your designs are spectacular and if you are at all interested in pursuing fashion as a career I’m going to do what I can to support you.”

They reached their seats and sat down, taking in the dramatic staging and lighting of the room. Kurt let his eyes run over the people in the crowd, recognizing a few actors and musicians, before coming to a dead stop.

“Blaine,” Kurt gasped, clutching Blaine’s arm, “That’s Anna Wintour. We’re sitting next to Anna Wintour. I can’t believe it.”

“Ana,” Blaine exclaimed, turning to his other side and reaching out to kiss the woman on both cheeks, “It’s so good to see you. May I introduce you to my friend, Kurt Hummel? Kurt’s kindly agreed to take a break from designing ball gowns for my mother and cousin in order to accompany me today.”

After the roaring in his ears dissipated Kurt was able to respond to Anna Wintour’s greeting. Amazingly she seemed interested in chatting and Blaine finally switched seats with him so that they could sit next to each other. They discussed the fall fashions that had been shown in February and talked about their favorite looks and trends before settling down to watch the show. To his astonishment, she took the time to say goodbye at the end of the show and asked him to send some of his designs to her office so that she could take a look.

“I’m hallucinating. I’ve contracted some previously unknown genie disease and am hallucinating. Is this how you felt when I told you about my powers, because if so I have a lot more sympathy for you now.”

Blaine just laughed. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised. She can recognize talent when she sees it and would be a fool not to try and see if your designs would work for her summer issue on new designers. And believe me, Anna Wintour is no fool.”

They had lunch at a neighborhood café and lingered a bit over coffee, but Blaine had other things planned for the day, so they did a coin toss to see who would pay for lunch and headed out.

“It’s time to mark another item off your New York to do list,” Blaine smiled, leading Kurt towards the nearest subway entrance.

They rode the subway for several minutes before Blaine indicated that their stop was next. Kurt still wasn’t sure what Blaine had in mind, but he went along with it as Blaine grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd at the station. They emerged into the sunlight, squinting a bit at the sudden brightness and stopped to slip their sunglasses on. They walked a few blocks from the station and as they turned one last corner the Brooklyn Bridge rose up above them, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

“I thought we’d walk across the bridge back into the city and they maybe head up to Greenwich Village so that I can show you my old neighborhood?”

They walked slowly across the bridge, staring up at the amazing architecture and stopping from time-to-time to enjoy the different views of the skyline or to people watch. Once off of the bridge they stopped to sit a bit in City Hall Park before heading uptown towards Greenwich Village. Blaine had lived in the Village while he was in New York, so he knew the neighborhood well. He showed Kurt many of his old haunts and they had coffee at his favorite shop before walking by the building where he had lived.

“So, you lived in a penthouse in Greenwich Village? Boy, you were really suffering for your art, weren’t you?”

“I needed space for my grand piano.”

“Uh huh. And the penthouse was the only place that could accommodate said piano?”

“Hey, I didn’t trade on the Anderson name to get ahead in the business, isn’t that enough of a sacrifice?” Blaine pouted, giving Kurt sad puppy eyes.

Kurt just laughed and headed off down the street, taking the lead in picking their direction. He had a destination in mind, but he wanted it to be a surprise, so he tried to make their walk look aimless until they finally reached the address he was looking for.

“You’ve been surprising me all weekend, so now it’s my turn.” Kurt looked across the street with a significant look and Blaine’s face lit up when he realized they were near the neighborhood bar where he had played many gigs during his musician days. They darted across the street and pulled open the door, Blaine wondering aloud if they might see an old friend or two of his inside. Kurt watched Blaine closely as he glanced around the bar, his eyes drifting from table to table, and saw the exact moment when he realized that he knew almost everyone there. The room was filled with old friends and colleagues that he hadn’t seen since leaving New York, as well as some people he didn’t know personally, but recognized as regulars who often attended his shows.

Several people in the crowd rushed forward to greet Blaine, so Kurt dropped back, wanting to give him some time alone with his friends. He grabbed a seat at a reserved table near the stage and spent a few minutes chatting with a few people. He let Blaine mingle for a half hour or so before stepping up onto the stage and grabbing the microphone. “Hi, I’m Kurt Hummel and I wanted to thank everyone for coming out tonight. We’ve been in the city for a few days now and I knew the trip wouldn’t be complete without Blaine being able to reconnect a little with the people that meant so much to him. Now, Blaine didn’t know we were coming here, so I’m afraid I’m putting him on the spot, but I’m sure everyone here would love it if he’d play a few songs.”

The crowd roared its approval and urged Blaine towards the stage, where he sat his drink down, gave Kurt a quick hug and picked up a guitar that was waiting in the corner. “Ha! No pressure.” He strummed the guitar a few times, checking to make sure it was in tune. “Let’s do a couple of old favorites, shall we?”

Blaine sang several songs that the audience was obviously familiar with if their loud shouts of approval were anything to go off of. More people came into the bar, some invited guests who were just arriving late and some passersby who had heard Blaine singing and were surprised to hear an old favorite returning to the neighborhood. After his fourth song Blaine took a break and approached the table where Kurt was sitting, dropping down into the empty chair next to him. “I can’t believe you did this. I think this is the best surprise I’ve ever had. How did you know about this place?”

“I asked Rachel and Santana to help me. They knew of this place and helped put me in touch with the owner, who took it from there.”

The bar owner stopped by just then to say hello and brought by more beers for the table. Kurt asked for a diet Coke instead, but Blaine, who had just finished his original beer, grabbed another one, drinking half of it before heading back up to the stage.

It was the first time Kurt had really seen Blaine in his musical element. Of course he had heard him sing before, but this was different: just Blaine and his guitar alone on the stage. Kurt felt as if he were glimpsing part of Blaine’s soul through his singing and was completely captivated and by looking at the enthralled faces of the crowd he knew he wasn’t the only one.

The evening turned into a blur of new people, beer, and songs. Blaine sung so much that he would probably be hoarse the next day, but he seemed to be enjoying himself so much that Kurt wanted the evening to go on and on.

It was late by the time the party wound down enough for them to think about leaving. They gathered their things and bid goodnight to the few people who remained. As they waited out front for their car to arrive Blaine slung his arm around Kurt’s shoulder and leaned into him a bit. “That was the best night ever! Have I told you how glad I am to have met you? So glad. So, so glad. Being with you makes me happy and I love being happy, don’t you? Who doesn’t like being happy? Not me.”

Kurt gave him a patronizing look. “Yes, Blaine. I like being happy.”

“You know what else makes me happy? Your hair. It goes up so high and looks so perfect. Every day I smile when I see it.” Blaine reached over and carded his fingers through Kurt’s hair. “It’s so fluffy.”

“No, your hair is fluffy. Mine is sculpted. I think you, sir, might be a little drunk.”

 “Wha—? I’m not drunk. I only had a little sip.” Blaine rested his head against Kurt’s shoulder, giving him an innocent look.

“Uh huh. A little sip.”

The car arrived and they climbed inside. As the car moved through the still busy streets Blaine reached down to grab Kurt’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Blaine had touched his hand hundreds of times (it was kind of their thing), but this time it felt different. Every movement of Blaine’s hand, every brush of a finger, sent sparks shooting up his arm.

Once they arrived at the hotel they rode the elevator silently to their room and Kurt opened the door. The lights of the city shown through the window, so Kurt didn’t bother turning on a lamp, walking into the living room to set down his messenger bag. Suddenly he felt hands on his shoulders and was spun around and pushed gently back until his back hit the cool glass of the window. He looked in surprise at Blaine, who was staring at him with a hungry expression on this face. Blaine paused for a moment before leaning forward slowly, giving Kurt time to protest or pull away. When Kurt’s only response was to lick his lips Blaine groaned and reached forward the last few inches until their lips met.

Kurt wasn’t sure what he expected his first kiss to be like. He had spent years studiously trying to not think about it in fact, placing any thoughts of romantic physical interactions into a tightly locked box. Now that he was there, with no box in which to contain his feelings, he let go and gave himself over to the moment. He was surprised by the heat, the texture of Blaine’s lips moving over his, the beating of his heart thudding loudly in his ears, but mostly he was surprised by how…natural it all seemed, how in tune they were. He would have thought that a first kiss would be awkward, especially when one of those involved had zero, but they came together as if their moves were choreographed, each knowing exactly where to go and what their role was.

Blaine pulled back, his questioning eyes searching Kurt’s face. In answer Kurt reached up his hand, grabbing hold of Blaine’s suddenly curly hair to pull him back in for a second kiss. That seemed to be all the encouragement Blaine needed. He pushed his palms flat against the window pane and brought his body into full contact with Kurt’s. He opened his mouth slightly and ran his tongue over Kurt’s lips, silently asking for entry. When Kurt complied Blaine rushed inside, wrapping his tongue around Kurt’s, causing a new rush of sensations to run through Kurt’s body. The kiss became more passionate and he felt the strength leave his legs. The weight of Blaine’s body became the only thing keeping him upright, pinned against the glass, stretched out before the city.

Kurt wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but finally Blaine pulled away again. He backed away slightly and Kurt was thankful to find that his legs were once again able to hold him up. Blaine caressed his face with one hand, tracing the lines of his nose, brow and chin before running a fingertip across his now swollen lips. “Kurt, this has been the most amazing trip and I…I owe it all to you. Thank you so much. For everything.”

Kurt smiled and brought his hand up to cover Blaine’s, which was still caressing his face.

“Now, I-I know you aren’t ready for more, so I’d better go, before I lose my head. Goodnight.” Blaine dropped a light kiss on Kurt’s lips and walked away to his bedroom.

Kurt stood in the dark for several minutes, replaying the past few moments in his head over and over. Blaine had kissed him. Blaine. Had. Kissed. Him. He almost couldn’t believe it and actually might not have, if not for the slightly bruised feeling in his lips and the remaining taste of Blaine on his tongue. What did this turn of events mean? Was he ready to take their relationship in a new direction? Was Blaine?

He finally made his way to his own room and dropped down on the bed face first, splayed out like a starfish. He lay still for a moment before flipping over to stare at the ceiling. A big grin overtook his face and he kicked his feet in happiness. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

******

Blaine was quiet the next morning, but Kurt attributed it to his being a little nervous and shy about the shift in their relationship. Kurt was nervous too, unsure of what to say or how to act after their kiss. He kept finding himself staring at Blaine’s lips, so to distract himself he talked almost non-stop at breakfast and on the drive to the airport. Once on the plane he was finally able to calm down and started thinking about what they might do on their next trip to New York. There was so much they hadn’t seen and he filled his mental list with activities he might have previously rejected for being too romantic in nature.

Before he knew it the plane was landing and they were in the car on the way home. When they arrived Kathleen met them and grabbed their bags to take them up to their rooms, leaving them alone in the entryway. Kurt was taking off his coat when Blaine cleared his throat.

“Kurt, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course,” Kurt replied, folding his coat over his arm.

“I-I wanted to apologize for last night.”

“Apologize? What for?”

 “I drank too much and I make really bad decisions when I’m drunk. I know I get inappropriately affectionate and do things I don’t mean, so I just want you to know I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable and I-I’m hoping we can just forget what happened when we got back to the hotel.”

For a minute Kurt was confused by what Blaine was saying, sure that at any moment he would say something to turn the conversation around, but that moment never came. Blaine regretted their kiss. It would never have happened if he had been sober. He hadn’t meant it. Suddenly, the only important thing in his life was to show Blaine that he wasn’t hurt by this turn of events, to put on a façade that would fool him into thinking that Kurt too had been unaffected by the kiss. “Don’t worry about it. At least your reaction to alcohol is nowhere near as bad as mine,” he laughed, hoping it didn’t sound too forced. “I would’ve probably had the Statue of Liberty performing a hula out in the middle of the harbor.” He reached down and picked up his messenger bag. “I think I’m going to go unpack and rest up a bit. I’ll see you at dinner?”

He gave Blaine a slight smile so as to not oversell the moment and turned up the stairs. Within moments he had reached his bedroom and was closing the door behind him. He stood for a moment in the silent room, still a little shell shocked at the turn of events. He dropped his bag on the floor, pressed his back to the wall, and slid down until he was sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees.

How had everything changed so quickly? Why did Blaine’s apology bother him so much? The kiss had been just a few moments out of an extraordinary friendship. Why not just forget about it and return to the way they were? Well, that at least he could answer easily. Somehow Blaine had managed to get past the barrier he used to keep people at arm’s length. Kurt had spent his entire life avoiding any hint of romantic entanglement, so why him? Why now? And why had he allowed himself, if even for a minute, to imagine never being alone, never being lonely, again.

For the first time in almost two months Kurt retreated to the safety of his samovar, finding it too painful to remain in human form.


	15. Chapter 15

The days that followed the kiss were slightly uncomfortable, with Kurt trying to pretend like it had never happened — but not quite succeeding — and Blaine looking guilty all the time. The day after their return from New York, Blaine went into work early and Kurt was able to avoid recapping the trip for Rachel by pleading a headache. He stayed in his room all day and did some serious thinking. Was he in love with Blaine? No, but the possibility was there, if nurtured correctly. The seed had been planted and if Blaine wasn’t interested then he had to make sure that it didn’t grow.

Kurt kept himself occupied by working on the gowns for Helen and Rachel, which were going to require much more time and effort than the clothes he was designing for Blaine and himself. He noted that Blaine was working longer hours than normal and often missing dinner. When he did arrive home he always stopped by to say a polite ‘hello’, but quickly retreated to his room, no longer staying for movie nights or reading in the library.

Rachel seemed to notice that something was off, but for once wisely decided not to meddle. She did stay around the house a bit more, though, as if waiting to be a shoulder to cry on if someone decided to confide in her. Thankfully, after about a week things started returning to normal. Blaine came home to find Kurt and Rachel watching old episodes of the first season of _American Idol_ and sat down to join them. By the end of the episode they were all adding their own musical critiques while throwing popcorn at the screen whenever Simon made a hideous comment and just like that the ice was broken. Blaine started coming home in time for dinner and as the weeks passed his relationship with Kurt slowly returned to what it had been before.

******

Time passed quickly and suddenly it was mid-June and time for the Anderson’s charity ball. Despite having hired party planners for the event, Helen had been immersed in the details of the party for months. The last week had been especially busy as the ballroom was decorated, catering menus finalized, and gowns finished.

Finally, the night of the ball arrived. The weather was warm, so the doors leading out to the pool area from the ballroom were opened and flooring was laid across the swimming pool to allow people to circulate outside.

Kurt had offered to help out with some last minute questions from the party staff, so he was the first person to arrive in the ballroom. He swept a critical eye over the room, which was decorated dramatically in black and gold to fit the theme of ‘Theatricality’. The draped brocade on the walls, black velvet table coverings and baroque style fixtures were inspired by the ‘Masquerade’ scene from _Phantom of the Opera_. The ceiling was covered in several shades of blue chiffon and illuminated stars dangled on invisible wires, turning the air above them into a shimmering sky. Helen had been lost for decorating ideas and had jumped at the suggestion when Kurt made it. She was so impressed with the idea that she even started including him in her meetings with the party planners.

Kurt was just finishing up his last minute instructions to the staff when Blaine arrived. He watched as Blaine came closer, his eyes instinctively running over his ensemble to make sure that everything was fitting correctly. The black velvet tuxedo-style jacket with satin detailing fit perfectly and gold applique on the shoulders emphasized their breadth while the applique on the lower part of the sleeves served to bring the eye to his small waist. The elaborate appliques added a historical look to the jacket, as if it was something that Marie Antoinette would have picked out for her husband, if they were still living today. Kurt sighed with satisfaction. The look was theatrical yet still classically formal and just what he had been going for. Blaine came to a stop in front of Kurt and twirled once to display his outfit.

“You look amazing,” Kurt declared, reaching up to straighten his black bowtie.

“As do you, kind sir. Remind me to congratulate the designer later.”

Kurt’s tuxedo was quite different from Blaine’s. Though it was still dramatic in its own right, the slightly deconstructed pieces were much more in line with Kurt’s own personal style. The white pants and unbuttoned waistcoat were traditional enough, but the white jacket featured a few straightjacket-like buckles and had black cutouts on the lapels and cuffs. He had finished off the look of the jacket with an antique silver broach in the shape of an old-fashioned timepiece. It was the black shirt that made the outfit deviate the most from a traditional tuxedo, though. The shirt was long in back, coming down to mid-thigh, and was draped in the front, curving up from the bottom until the two sides met to button at his waist. The look was eccentric and fashion with a capital ‘F’, so many people wouldn’t get it, but Kurt felt confident and happy.

Within minutes Helen, Rachel, and Finn had also joined them in the ballroom. The invitations had asked the guests to dress in red, black, or white, but Helen, as hostess, felt empowered to deviate a bit from that color scheme. Her nude colored strapless dress shimmered as the light reflected off of the black crystals that heavily embellished the scallop-tiered full skirt. Kurt was perhaps most proud of this design, as the placement of the crystals had to be precise in order to produce the effect he wanted. Thankfully Helen hadn’t inquired too much about how he had applied so many crystals in such a short amount of time.

Rachel looked lovelier than ever in her red strapless gown. The bodice and full skirt were made up entirely of layers upon layers of tissue thin chiffon ruffles, making her look like a fairytale princess brought to life. She and Finn stopped to say hello before continuing on to greet some friends who were just arriving.

About twenty minutes later, Santana entered the ballroom wearing a formfitting black lace dress with a high slit of the front and strategically placed solid black cut-outs. Kurt was only slightly surprised to see that she wasn’t alone. Brittany was with her dressed in a red and black halter style dress made completely of feathers. The girls caught site of Blaine and Kurt and headed over, their pinkies locked together at their sides.

 “Santana, were you mugged on your way in? It seems that half of your dress is missing,” Blaine laughed, noticing how many men in the room couldn’t tear their eyes away from her.

“Funny. I see you’re wearing yet another bowtie. You seem to be wearing them a lot recently. Does Elf of the Shelf here have a kink I don’t know about?”

Brittany looked at Kurt with concern. “You have a kink? Is it in your neck? ‘Cause I give really good massages.”

Blaine gave her a puzzled look, unsure if she was joking or not. She caught his look and wandered over to his side to give him a demonstration on her massage technique.

With Brittany occupied for the moment Santana pulled Kurt aside. “Kurt, she conjured up an enormous cat that she takes everywhere with her. I had to bribe her into not bringing him tonight. And she talks to him. I mean actually talks to him and hears him talk back. That isn’t all in her head is it? She really hears him, doesn’t she?”

“Brittany‘s always been able to communicate with animals in ways others can’t. It isn’t just in her head.”

“That dress she’s wearing? I had something nice and blend-iny picked out and she suddenly appeared in that feathered monstrosity and proclaimed that the birds who donated their feathers for it wanted her to send them pictures from the party.”

Kurt snickered as he pictured a flock of featherless birds sitting by a computer, shivering as they awaited Brittany’s update on the party. “I think that one might actually be just in her head.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t say that it’s been boring. Yesterday she mixed up the dryer and the microwave and set a load of clothes on fire.” Santana side-eyed Kurt as he laughed again, then joined in herself. “She called the fire department! I asked her why she just didn’t put the fire out herself and she said it was because she wanted the firemen to come visit with their Dalmatian.” She looked over at the blond massaging Blaine’s shoulders with a fond smile.

Brittany finished up her massage demonstration and skipped over to stand next to Santana. Blaine followed up the rear, moving his head from side-to-side and rolling his shoulders. They talked for a few minutes before Brittany got a glimpse of the refreshment table and pulled Santana over to it.

Blaine looked after them with a bemused expression. “My neck feels fantastic. She should get a job as a massage therapist.” He rolled his shoulders one last time and grabbed a sparkling cider from a passing waiter. “Santana seems really happy. Probably the happiest I’ve ever seen her, actually. I think she might be falling for Brittany. Is there any possibility that she might return the feelings?”

Kurt looked over at Brittany, who was busy smearing whipped cream on the tip of Santana’s nose. “Brittany doesn’t see the outsides of people, just the insides. Wait…that sounded kind of gross. I mean she sees things differently, sees people differently. I don’t think she cares one way or the other —man, woman, or dinosaur.”

“Hey Blaine, who’s the hottie?” a slightly nasal voice interrupted from behind them. They turned to see a small brunette woman wearing perhaps the most extravagant and quirky dress of the evening. Kurt’s eyes widened as he took in the enormous asymmetrical black silk and tulle gown. The yellow underskirt painted with large scale yellow and red pansies seemed to flash like a beacon in the room amidst the sea of black, white, and red.

“Sugar, it’s nice to see you. That’s quite a dress. Please let me introduce you to my friend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is Sugar Motta. Her father is…”

“No, no boring talk tonight. You know how I hate to be bored.” Sugar dismissed Blaine, zeroing in on Kurt. “You’re the hottest guy in the room and I’m the hottest woman, so I think we need to dance and show everyone what they’re missing.”

“OK…?” Sugar was grabbing Kurt’s hand and pulling him towards the dance floor before he had a chance to finish his sentence. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer than he felt comfortable with.

“You’re gorgeous. Daddy is sending me to Europe for the summer and I’ve been looking for a yummy piece of arm candy that isn’t intimidated by my looks and social standing. How about it, cookie?”

“Sugar, he’s gay. Put your tongue back in your mouth,” Santana called out as she danced by with Finn.

“Gay, huh?” Despite his embarrassment, Kurt smiled down at her disappointed expression and nodded. “Oh. Oh well.” They danced in silence for a moment. “Are you looking for a hag? I’ve always wanted to be one.”

Kurt sent Blaine a pleading look from the dance floor, but Blaine only responded with a wink and a smile and watched as they were soon swallowed up by the swirling crowd. Brittany, left alone for the moment while Santana danced with Finn, slipped in beside him, smiling out at the dancers and tapping her toe to the music.

“Brittany, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure. Anything except about what happened to Amelia Earhart. I’ve been sworn to secrecy,” she answered, smiling innocently at Blaine’s curious look.

“Umm…do genies give off an aura or a pheromone or something that causes people to be drawn to them?” he asked, silently hoping that she would give a scientific reason behind his uncontrollable attraction to Kurt.

“No, there’s nothing special about genies that would cause that.” Brittany followed his gaze to where Kurt was still dancing with Sugar. “It’s just because he’s Kurt, not because he’s a genie.” She gave Blaine a gentle smile at his resigned sign and leaned her chin against his shoulder.

The music ended and Kurt was able to extricate himself from Sugar with a promise to consider her as a candidate for his hag. Blaine swallowed his laugh that threatened to erupt when he saw the hunted look in Kurt’s eye and instead gave him what he hoped was a look of commiseration.

Santana also rejoined the group, having left Finn on the other side of the room with Rachel. “Blaine, you need to dance with me right now to erase the memory of Moby Dick over there. It should be illegal for him to be within 50 feet of a dance floor unless he’s waxing it with buckets of his own whale blubber.”

Blaine just rolled his eyes and wisely kept quiet as he took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Kurt and Brittany watched them from the edge of the crowd, admiring the ease with which they moved.

As they danced out of view Kurt grabbed Brittany’s hand and looked down at her. “Britt, are you happy? Did I make the right choice?”

Brittany’s face softened. “Kurt, I’m so, so happy. She needs me. Really needs me. I haven’t felt like this since…well, I can kind of see it, but the memory’s not really there, it was so long ago, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” he said sadly.

“She doesn’t even mind that I am the way I am. We went to the mall the other day and I heard a noise that I was sure was the aliens invading, so I disguised Santana and myself as mannequins. When she could finally move her mouth again she told me it was just a car alarm, not aliens. She wasn’t even mad that we were in that store for over four hours. Or that the weird guy dressed us up in frilly underwear and made us ride bikes in the window.”

Kurt was still trying to picture Brittany and Santana in the window display of the department store when a flash of red caught the corner of his eye. He looked up to see Quinn entering the room, gorgeous in a flowing red gown, with a distinguished looking older man on her arm. They made their way around the outskirts of the room, reaching Kurt and Brittany just as Blaine and Santana rejoined them.

Santana took one look at the approaching couple and hurried off, Brittany in tow. Blaine shook hands with the man, introducing him to Kurt as Quinn’s father, and greeted Quinn with a kiss on the cheek. They made small talk for a few minutes until Mr. Fabray directed the conversation to something work related. Kurt took the opportunity to examine the man who was in such control of Blaine’s future at the company. He seemed like a pleasant enough guy and though the smile he had directed at Kurt hadn’t been very genuine, he seemed to really like Blaine. How could he justify trying to interfere in Blaine’s life the way he was? Did he really think that he could force Blaine to be something that he wasn’t simply by having him marry Quinn?

Mr. Fabray brought Quinn into the conversation and shifted a little forcing Kurt to move to the side, pushing him out of their little circle. He had a satisfied look on this face as the glanced between Blaine and Quinn and slipped a slight glare towards Kurt that was probably subtle enough that Blaine missed it. Kurt felt distinctively uncomfortable and was about to excuse himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Blaine smiling at him.

“If you two will excuse us, Kurt and I have several guests we need to greet. Have a great night.” With one sentence Blaine had made it obvious where his loyalties lay, at least that night. Kurt couldn’t help but take a quick look back as he walked away and wasn’t ashamed to admit that the shared sour expressions pleased him quite a bit.

Kurt and Blaine walked across the room to join Helen just as new group of guests entered the ballroom. When someone complimented Helen’s dress she introduced Kurt as the designer and he suddenly found himself the center of attention as word spread that he had been responsible for the two best gowns in the room. He was discussing his point-of-view as a designer and his main inspirations when he again caught a glimpse of red and looked up to see Quinn slipping away into the crowd.

******

Sometime later the music came to a stop and the crowd’s attention was drawn to Helen as she walked out onto the small stage built along the far wall.

“I want to thank you all for coming and for your generosity. Thanks to you, we will be able complete the renovations of Camp Wenatchee and will be able to host twice as many kids in the coming years.” She paused to let the applause subside. “I have a special surprise for you all this evening. We have a few performances that will perhaps inspire you to sponsor a child at the camp this coming year.”

Kurt clapped loudly as Rachel and Puck mounted the stage. He had suggested to Helen that including some musical performances might be fitting, since the purpose was to raise money for the camp, but he didn’t know who was going to be performing. Rachel and Puck sang a duet, followed by Rachel singing a show stopping rendition of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’. As she left the stage Puck returned, this time joined by 15 children around the age of 10, to perform ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’ from _Oliver!_ to the delight of the crowd. As they sang, Kurt couldn’t help but notice that Quinn couldn’t keep her eyes off of Puck.

The kids finished their song and made their bows to the loud applause. They filed off of the stage to make way for Blaine, who appeared carrying a guitar.

“Well, I can’t believe I have to follow that, but I guess the show must go on, right?”

 Kurt was spellbound by Blaine’s version of ‘In Your Eyes’ and could feel himself flushing every time Blaine glanced at him as he sung. He felt his heart slip a little bit more out of his control. It wasn’t fair that Blaine looked at him like that when he wasn’t interested in taking that next step. The mixed messages were starting to drive him crazy.

The song ended and with it the performance part of the evening. Blaine left the stage and found himself surrounded by some admirers, so Kurt went over to speak with one of the staff members about a few notes he had for them. He was still speaking with the man, who had the most amazing dreadlocks, when he started to feel a prickle on the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him. He glanced up and saw several people in the crowd look away quickly to avoid making eye contact. He shrugged it off and went back to his conversation, but as the minutes passed he continued to feel more eyes on him. When the staff member left Kurt searched the room for Blaine, but everywhere he went conversation died as he approached. Something was definitely going on.

Rachel move toward him with an urgent note to her stride and curled her hand around his arm. “Kurt, I need to speak with you.” She pulled him towards the outskirts of the room, away from the crowd and turned towards him with tears in her eyes. “I-I was getting so many compliments on my dress and Helen and I were mentioning to everyone that you were the designer. Things were going so well, then…”

“Rachel, what’s going on?”

“Someone is spreading a vicious lie that you stole the designs for our dresses.” The look on his face must have been more horrified than he realized, because Rachel’s face crumbled a little. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. I don’t know who would do this.”

Kurt looked back at the people gathered in the ballroom and could see now that the rumor must have reached nearly all of them. Some were staring while others were trying to be discreet, but everyone seemed to be gossiping about him. He thought of all of the work that had gone into the outfits for the ball, the effort Blaine had gone to in New York with Anna Wintour. Was all of it wasted now? He had never felt this unhappy to be the center of attention. He was just standing frozen, wondering how he could make the floor open up and swallow him without people noticing, when he felt a presence beside him. He turned to see Blaine, one hand tucked behind his back and one extended in invitation.

“May I have this dance?”

Kurt turned to find Blaine, hand extended in invitation and his relief was instantaneous. “Yes, yes you may.” The band was playing a waltz, so Blaine swept Kurt up in his arms and they glided out onto the dance floor.

“What will the bigwigs at your company think about you dancing with me like this?”

 “Who cares what they think? I am so proud of you tonight and all you’ve accomplished and I don’t care who knows it.”

Kurt cast a rueful look around the room. “I think I can safely say that no one else here is thinking well of me at the moment.”

“Don’t worry, mom is taking care of it. No one gets away with telling lies about someone Helen Anderson cares about.”

******

Puck walked purposefully across the room towards Quinn, smoothly putting off the few people who tried to engage him in conversation. When he reached her side he pulled her out into the service hallway used by the wait staff. “Quinn, how could you do that? What has Kurt ever done to you? You know you’ll never have Blaine, so what did you think this would accomplish? What happened to you? You weren’t like this before.”

“Before what? Before I met you? Before I gave in to you in a moment of weakness? Before I got pregnant and my family shipped me off to Europe to have the baby in shame like I was in some Dickensian story? Before I gave my baby up for adoption? Before what, Puck? Tell me!”

He just gave her a look halfway between disappointed and disgusted. “You’re better than this, Quinn.”

“No, I’m really not,” she called out as she walked away without a backward glance.

******

Helen paused as she approached a group of women and took a deep breath. She hadn’t spoken to this particular group of former friends since just after the funeral, when she’d discovered how they had spread the gossip about her husband’s mistress. It wasn’t like she had avoided them on purpose. She’d just been staying at home a lot and hadn’t seen them at any of the events she did attend. OK, so she had been avoiding them. She had thought they were her friends, but they’d been first in line to revel in her pain and embarrassment and she found it hard to even think about facing them again. But desperate times call for desperate measures and there was no way she was going to let some malicious coward get away with hurting Kurt or her son and how better to spread information than by starting with the worst gossips in the room.

She joined the group and gossiped with them for a few minutes, acting as if nothing was strange about her speaking with them after almost two years. Once they seemed comfortable with her presence she guided the conversation around to the fashions seen at the ball, then casually mentioned how she and Kurt had worked closely on her dress, how patient Kurt had been while making alteration after alteration to his design to accommodate her flighty suggestions, and how he had so many wonderful sketches she could attend a ball every night for the next three months and still not be able to wear them all.

By the time she left her frenemies behind with the excuse that she need to circulate amongst the other guests she had convinced them that Kurt was the sole designer of the Anderson women’s gowns and had them itching for him to design for them. Within minutes the lies about Kurt were slowly being washed away, replaced by fawning over his design skills and envious looks to those in the room wearing his creations.

******

Standing by the doors leading out to the pool area, Quinn immediately noticed a change in the room. The whispers and accusatory side-long glances were being replaced with smiles and admiring looks in Kurt’s direction. How had they managed to turn the situation around so quickly? It had seemed to take forever for her carefully placed lies to make it to all the right ears and now it was all for nothing.

She looked over at Blaine and Kurt, holding court over a circle of admirers who were now asking Kurt to design for them. Didn’t Blaine realize that Kurt couldn’t get him to where he needed to be? He claimed that Anderson Worldwide was important to him, had even given up the career he claimed to love in order to come back to the fold, but he wasn’t willing to take that final step. Quinn had told him that she would be the most understanding wife imaginable and look the other way when he needed to get a little companionship that was more to his liking, but he’d been surprisingly resistant. She’d been wearing him down though, making progress, until Kurt showed up. Suddenly all of her logical reasons why a marriage between them would work were ignored, her arguments falling on deaf ears. She was sure that if Kurt was no longer in the picture she would be able to bring Blaine around, but he seemed to be there to stay.

She clenched her teeth, suddenly angrier than she had been in a long time. She shook her head curtly at a waiter who stopped to offer her a glass of champagne, but the serving tray full of drinks got her thinking. She’d been around Kurt enough to know that he never drank alcohol and had overheard Blaine teasing him about how he was such a lightweight and that they didn’t want a repeat of last time, so she assumed that he was a bad, or at least a sloppy, drunk. She knew that it would probably take more than one drink to cause him to act out, after all no one was such a lightweight that one drink would get them drunk, but she didn’t really care, she had to do something.

She overheard Kurt order a virgin daiquiri and followed the waiter to the service area where the drink orders were being fulfilled. She waited until he had made Kurt’s drink then asked him for martini. When he turned to make her drink she poured out part of the daiquiri and added several shots of rum, giving the finished drink a quick stir with a swizzle stick. The waiter then handed her the finished martini, which she accepted with a smile before walking away back into the ballroom.

******

 Kurt took a few sips of his drink, basking in the attention of a group of women who were interested in his designs. He made a mental to note to ask Helen what it was she had said to turn things around so quickly.

Suddenly the room began to move, the walls undulating back and forth as if they were trees swaying in the wind. He was about to lean over to comment to Blaine when he felt a familiar tickle deep in the pit of his stomach. In disbelief he lifted his glass up to the light and peered at it, as if looking harder would make it confess what ingredients it contained. Hoping against hope that the tickling didn’t mean what he thought it meant he scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He didn’t see any problems and was about to let out a sigh of relief when he saw it. A slight movement from the ice sculpture in the shape of a swan as it slightly stretched its neck and ruffled its feathers.

He reached out desperately and grabbed Blaine’s arm, smiling in what he hoped was apology to the people he had been conversing with. “My drink...alcohol,” was all he could choke out as he returned to sweeping this eyes around the room, looking for other signs of this out-of-control powers.

“What?” Blaine too began to look frantically around the room and caught sight of the ice swan, which was now preening an uplifted wing. Thankfully, no one else was looking in that direction, but it wouldn’t be long before someone saw it.

Kurt began to back out of the room, hoping to escape to his bedroom before anything more obvious happened, but a gasp from the woman at his side told him he wasn’t quick enough. He followed her gaze up to the ceiling, where the hanging stars were now beginning to swing and twist around in little circles. Every once and a while one would spark and zoom off across the room, like a shooting star in the sky. The effect was beautiful and in any other circumstance Kurt would find it enchanting, but not tonight.

Everyone in the ballroom was now looking up, mesmerized by the spectacle above them. Suddenly a burst of light and sound erupted from a corner and the crowd gasped as one when tiny miniature fireworks began exploding over their heads, raining harmless sparks down upon them.

In his alcohol induced haze Kurt heard a commotion from the pool area and out of the corner of his eye he saw Santana and Brittany rush into the room. Brittany looked up at the ceiling, eyes wide. She giggled and clapped, enjoying the show until she glanced over and saw the panicked look on Kurt’s face.

Her smile dropped and she directed her now swirling eyes back to the ceiling as she whispered, “Stop the violence.”

With Brittany’s words everything returned to normal. The fireworks stopped, the stars once again hung motionless from their wires, and the only movement from the swan sculpture came from the melting ice. She had counteracted his alcohol induced magic.

The sound of clapping snapped Kurt out of daze and he glanced over find Santana applauding loudly and smiling as she looked around the room. “Wow! That was amazing. Helen told me they were going to have a spectacular show to end the evening, but I had no idea. I’m going to have to get the name of her special effects guy.”

Her words seemed to release the paralysis that had held the crowd and they all erupted into applause and cheering. People began to drift away, but from their excited conversations it was obvious that they all believed what they had just seen was a planned part of the entertainment for the evening.

Kurt stumbled over to Brittany’s side and caught her up in his arms, hugging her tight. “You’re my hero.”

She hugged him back and whispered, “Next time, can we do the fireworks outside? People seemed a little scared of your indoor versions. Did you know they can make smiling faces and hearts out of fireworks now? I think they got the idea from that show I put on for the Chinese Emperor once.”


	16. Chapter 16

Kurt had been worried about the possible fall-out from the alcohol induced magic at the ball, but they seem to have escaped unscathed. The guests went home and raved about the Hollywood level pyrotechnics, making anyone who hadn’t attended instantly jealous and ensuring that the next Anderson hosted event would be standing room only. Blaine had been able to convince his mother that the stars and fireworks had been a surprise he and Kurt had planned. She seemed a little dubious at first, but since there was really no other logical explanation she soon gave in and enjoyed giving coy “no comment” responses when people asked about who they had hired to do the work.

Flush with the success of the ball and her triumph in the designer gossip war Helen had plunged headlong into plans to redecorate the mansion, contacting decorators and finding charities that would benefit from the donation of the older furnishings.

With the worry about the party past, Kurt was left to focus on an even more concerning problem: Blaine. Kurt had accepted that Blaine only wanted to be friends after the whole kiss debacle, but Blaine wasn’t making it easy for him to keep his resolve. Blaine has always been somewhat touchy-feely and Kurt had grown comfortable with the clasped hands, the shoulder touches, and the light hugs, but now it was like everything was in overdrive. Whenever they were in a room together Blaine seemed to be touching him. If they were sitting together then inevitably a thigh was touching. If they were standing next to each other a hand was around his waist. If they were reading together in the library then toes were tucked under his leg. The worst part was that Blaine didn’t even seem to be aware that he was doing it, so Kurt was having a hard time bringing up the subject.

The situation was definitely starting to get to him. At work he had put together a list of perspective models for a new client who had asked for some “Liam Hemsworth types” and had been embarrassed to find he had actually submitted the headshots of models who were definitely more “Blaine Anderson types”. At home he found himself staring after Blaine with a stupid smitten look on his face and had even worked an entire evening on new design sketches only to look the next day and find that his sketch pad was full of drawings of Blaine.

He was so frustrated and confused he could scream.

Rachel was the only distraction from his bewildering state of affairs. Not long after the ball, while on a shopping trip to replace her horrible summer wardrobe, she had decided to confide in him.

“I’m thinking about moving to New York,” she blurted out while rifling through a rack of retro-style dresses. “You were right about needing to pursue your dreams. My talent is too big to be limited to just charity productions and karaoke bars, too big for Chicago. Broadway is where I belong.”

“Wow Rachel, that’s…amazing.”

Rachel stood on her tip-toes and threw her arms around his neck to hug him close. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much it means, to have someone who believes in me.”

“You’re one in a million and those Broadway producers won’t know what hit them.” Kurt pulled back a little. “Have you told Blaine and Helen yet? Or Finn?”

“No,” she sighed, her downcast eyes searching the floor. “Every time I try I chicken out and change the subject. Do you…do you think you might tell them for me?”

“Absolutely not. You’ve got to tell them yourself. You might be surprised.”

Weeks later she still hadn’t gotten up the courage to say anything to her family, but she and Kurt met regularly to brainstorm potential audition songs and he had seen her practice a few different dance routines so often he could probably dance them himself.

Then, something happened to force her hand. Kurt was having lunch with Artie when he mentioned that the owner of the theater company he worked for was investing in a Broadway musical. The show was just in the beginning stages and was in the middle of casting for a workshop version which would hopefully eventually end up on Broadway. The lead parts had been cast, but auditions for the chorus were being held in New York and Chicago the following week.

Kurt didn’t want to get Rachel’s hopes up, but thought that going through an audition while still in Chicago would be good for her. After all, if it turned out she couldn’t handle the pressure involved it would be better to find that out before she moved to New York.

When he told her about the audition the determined look on her face said it all. Rachel Berry was going to be at that audition come hell or high water.

5 days and about a hundred repetitions of ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’ later Kurt accompanied Rachel to the auditions for moral support. As they waited in line to submit her headshots and bio, Kurt could hear her giving herself a little pep talk.

“You’re a star. You know it and now it’s only a matter of minutes before they know it too. You’re going to shine so brightly they’ll offer you the job on the spot. You’re a star,” she whispered over and over as they made their way to the front of the line.

Rachel was at the head of the line when the man at the door stopped her, announcing that they had reached their limit for people and were accepting no one else in for the open auditions.

“Please, you don’t understand,” Rachel implored, clutching her paperwork in her hands, “I need to be at this audition. I’ve wanted this since I was 3 years old. Please, just give me a chance. You won’t regret it.”

Kurt could see that the man was about to refuse. He couldn’t bear to see Rachel’s hopes dashed before she even had a chance, so he thought for a minute, trying to figure out the best way to get them inside. He concentrated for a moment, turning his head slightly so that no one could see his eyes.

“Hey Jerry,” a voice rung out from inside the theater, “We miscounted, so we have room for one more.”

Jerry impassively held out his hand to Rachel, asking for her paperwork. She handed it to him and he indicated with a flick of his head that she should go inside. Before heading in she turned to Kurt with a tremulous smile and threw her arms around his neck for a quick hug. As she let go he reached down to attached a tiny gold star shaped pin to the collar of her shirt. “Break a leg, Rachel. They’re going to love you.”

She smiled at him gratefully and disappeared inside.

3 hours later the first round of auditions were over and Rachel had, amazingly, made it through to the second round. She had a half hour for lunch, so she and Kurt decide to head to the café next door for something light. As they left the building, a voice stopped them.

“You really should be more careful about the expressions you make when you sing. You close your eyes too much and make faces that are so overly-dramatic they belong in a Lifetime movie of the week.” Rachel gasped in outrage at the criticism and spun around to give the speaker a piece of her mind, but was unable to get anything out before he continued. “I’m only telling you this because you’re really talented. Not as talented as me, of course, but I’d hate to see you miss out on roles because of something you can change. You should be flattered; I don’t waste my time giving advice to people who don’t have potential. It’s too valuable.”

Rachel was a little mollified at this and Kurt could tell she was intrigued by the man.

“I’m Rachel. Rachel Berry,” she said tentatively, reaching her hand out in greeting.

“Jesse…St. James.”

******

Rachel made it through the second round of auditions and had been asked to come back for the final round the next day. As they headed home she sped through a minute-by-minute recap of her experience. As Kurt listened he realized that a lot of her stories featured Jesse St. James, who was one of the featured actors already cast in the production.

“So, Jesse seems to have made a big impression, huh?”

Rachel was quiet for a moment. “I love Finn. I really do, but…I can’t deny that I’m drawn to Jesse. His talent is a great match for mine and if I’m going to be a star I’ll need a leading man who can keep up with me, like Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Jesse speaks to the artist inside of me and he understands, you know?” Kurt nodded giving her a sympathetic look. “Does this make me a bad person? Going after my dreams, even at the expense of those I love? I just don’t know if Finn will understand. I don’t know if he’s ever wanted something even half as much. What if my moving to New York ends my relationship with Finn and I ruin his life? Losing me could do that to a person.”

 “Sometimes you have to risk it all to get the things you really want.”

“I guess,” she agreed. She looked out the car window for a minute before turning back to him with a serious look. “So when are going to take your own advice, huh?”

Kurt had no response for her and they finished up the ride in silence. They arrived home to hear the sound of arguing coming from the closed doors of the living room. They stood uneasily in the entry way, only able to make out that the raised voices belonged to Blaine and Quinn, but not being able to clearly understand anything that was being said. They were about to retreat silently to the second floor when the doors burst open and Quinn rushed out, brushing past them as she headed for the front door. She paused to glare at Kurt and seemed about to say something when she was stopped by Blaine saying her name in a warning tone. She gave an angry toss of her head and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Blaine just shook his head at their questioning looks and retreated back into the library. He was introspective for the rest of the night, but Kurt couldn’t gather up the courage to ask what the fight had been about.

******

The final cast list for the musical was set to be posted on Monday morning and by mid-day Sunday it was obvious that something was going to have to be done to distract and occupy Rachel. She had been super intense and restless all day and while Kurt knew the reason behind it, no one else did, so their frustration was growing by the minute. Kurt and Blaine were trying to relax out by the pool, and after the fifth time she had come out to pace around the pool and engage them in endless rapid fire conversation Blaine had suggested she organize the DVDs in the theater. That only kept her occupied for an hour, so Helen also did her part to find something for the girl to do, asking her to start boxing up small items that would be replaced in the upcoming redecoration, but that task also didn’t keep her occupied for long.

Finally, in desperation Blaine suggested that they call Finn and all go out for the evening. They settled on a retro roller rink that had opened earlier that year, hoping that the physically activity would help tire Rachel out and give them some peace. They arrived at the roller rink to find a good sized crowd already gathered. Most were skating, but some were tucked away into a side room where they were singing rockaoke, which was karaoke with a live band.

A tiny blond woman with a slight southern accent was at the microphone, introducing the theme of the next skate, her words slurred just a touch, as if she had already indulged a little too much for the evening. “Howdy everyone, I’m April, your host for this evening, and I want everyone to get out on the floor. It’s an ‘all skate’, so let’s get this party started!” She topped off her glass from what looked like a box of wine behind the podium and tottered off towards the rockaoke room, where she jumped on stage and began belting out a song with the band.

Not surprisingly, Finn turned out to be a horrible skater and Rachel was soon fully engaged in just keeping him on his feet as they circled the floor. Kurt had never been skating before, so he watched Blaine skate around a few times before trying it himself. He took to it immediately and they were soon engaged in a playful game of tag out on the floor.

Finally sore ankles from turning the same direction over and over led them to take a break and grab some pizza in the attached cafeteria style restaurant. As they sat at a table nibbling their food Kurt decided to broach the topic that had been on his mind since the day before. “Quinn seemed upset last night. Is something wrong?”

Blaine gave a deep sigh and let his gaze wander out towards the skaters still on the floor, not really focusing on anyone in particular. “The board is getting impatient. They want to call a vote about putting a permanent CEO in place.”

“Already? But you don’t have the votes you need, do you?”

“That’s why Quinn—”

He was interrupted by the sound of his name being called out over the din in the restaurant and he looked up to see where it came from. Two men came rushing over and Blaine bounded up to meet them. From the garbled conversation Kurt gathered that these two men were old schoolmates of Blaine’s, but he has too irritated at having their conversation interrupted to care. As the three men approached the table he pasted what he hoped was a welcoming smile on his face.

“Kurt! These are two friends from high school, Wes and David. Guys, this is Kurt, my best friend.”

Kurt kept the smile on his face as everyone sat down at the table and let the conversation flow around him. Best friend. He was Blaine’s best friend. He should be happy about that, he knew, but he couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t enough. It hadn’t been enough for a quite a while now.

Lost in thought he didn’t hear the suggestion that they all rejoin the skaters on the floor, only cluing in when the other men stood up and looked at him expectantly. They all tromped back to the main room and rolled out onto the floor, laughing their way through the ‘Chicken Dance’, ‘Hokey Pokey’, and ‘YMCA’.

Everyone was laughing from witnessing the antics of their fellow skaters when the lights on the skating floor dimmed, the only direct illumination coming from the disco ball high overhead.

“OK everybody,” April cooed into the microphone, “If you’re feelin’ that burning deep down in your soul, grab your honey by the waist and come snuggle under the pale disco ball light, ‘cause this one’s for lovers only.”

Kurt was surprised to feel an arm encircle around his waist and he passively let Blaine draw him out onto the floor. They had skated once around the room before his wits returned and he stopped abruptly. Not anticipating having Kurt stop, Blaine shot passed him and had to swerve out of the way of other skaters as he circled back. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt an ankle or something?”

Kurt glared at him and swung around to skate off the floor, Blaine trailing behind. He made his way to the benches and sat, reaching down to remove his skates. “You can’t keep doing this to me. You can’t kiss me then say it was all a drunken mistake. You can’t tell me that we’re only friends then spend the whole night holding my hand and touching my waist. And you definitely can’t introduce me as your best friend then try and pull me in for the lover’s only skate. It isn’t fair and it isn’t like you to be cruel, so I need you to stop.” Kurt finally had his skates off and stormed away. When he reached the parking lot he stopped, unsure of what to do next. He leaned up against the side of the building, defeated.

“I’m sorry.” Kurt looked up to find Blaine standing in the doorway, one skate on and one skate off. “I know none of this is fair to you. I just…I’m a mess, Kurt. I can’t bear disappointing people and I know I overthink things too much.” He managed to get the other skate off and stepped closer to Kurt, careful not to crowd him. “When I kissed you back in New York? It wasn’t totally the alcohol. I think it just gave me the push I needed to do what I’d been wanting to for weeks. And it was more than I ever thought it’d be. It was everything. Then the next morning it was just me again. No extra courage telling me to go for what I wanted and the doubts just came rushing back in. I started thinking about my mom and how I had sacrificed so much. And I thought about the company and Quinn and what I might have to do to take my rightful place there.” Blaine reached down to grab Kurt’s hand. “But none of that matters anymore. I’m so tired of fighting what I feel. Of trying to be something I’m not. What I said earlier is true. You _are_ my best friend, but I’m hoping that you could be more, if I haven’t ruined everything.”

A strange feeling of calm came over Kurt as he listened to Blaine speak. If he was being honest with himself, he would admit that he had fallen a little bit in love with Blaine the night of the ball, when he turned around to see Blaine, hand out, asking him to dance. But falling in love wasn’t a good idea, at least not for him, and he had fought falling deeper for as long as he could. Now there he stood, on the edge of a precipice, knowing he should turn back, that danger lay ahead, but disregarding the warnings. When Blaine finally came to a stop, the pleading expression on his face pulled an answering pang from deep in Kurt’s heart.

Blaine’s face fell when Kurt didn’t respond immediately and he glanced sadly around the deserted parking lot with a resigned sigh. “Do you…do you want to go back inside?”

Kurt looked directly into Blaine’s eyes, took a deep breath, and flung himself off, hoping that Blaine would be there to break his fall. “No. I want to go back to the house,” he said, a deeper meaning ringing through every word.

Blaine stared at him with a stunned look, blinking and letting the words settle in, then with no warning he reached out and grabbed ahold of the tie Kurt was wearing, tugging him closer and closer until he wrapped his arm around his waist and drew him in for a passionate kiss.


	17. Chapter 17

Blaine could barely remember leaving the roller rink. He had a vague recollection of Rachel giving him a smirk and telling him she would be staying the night with Finn so that he and Kurt could have some privacy, but the next thing he knew they were in the backseat of a cab about halfway home. He could tell by the furtive looks that Kurt kept sending him that he was worried Blaine might change his mind again, so he reached over to grasp Kurt’s hand and pull it over to his thigh, anchoring it there as a sign they were still of the same mind.

Before he knew it they were standing in the hallway outside their bedrooms, Kurt looking down at him shyly, unsure of what to do next. With one hand, Blaine reached back and turned the doorknob. Grinning, he once again reached for Kurt’s tie, using it to draw him forward as he slowly backed up until they were both inside. He reached around Kurt to close the door, and then crowded him back a bit until he was resting fully against the wood. Blaine then wound his arms around Kurt’s middle and burrowed his face into the crease of his neck and shoulder. He breathed deep, taking in the scent that only belonged to Kurt. After just a second, Kurt looped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders, tightening them ever so slightly as he buried his face in Blaine’s hair. They stayed that way for several minutes, enjoying the way their bodies fit together perfectly in the still night air.

Eventually, Blaine became aware that the feelings of peace, contentment, and ‘yes, finally’ were being replaced with a heat moving up from the pit of his stomach and reaching out through his body. He grew restless as the hunger began to spread and his nuzzling turned into wet open mouth kisses placed against the soft, pale skin of Kurt’s neck. He felt Kurt shudder against him, his arms tightening and holding him even closer. Blaine drew back and looked deeply into the wonders that were Kurt’s eyes, thinking that maybe, if he looked hard enough, he would begin to see the secrets of the universe there.

The hunger that Blaine was feeling was reflected in Kurt’s eyes. He felt one of Kurt’s hands slide up his neck into his hair, which had suddenly sprung into a riot of curls. He raised an eyebrow questioningly and Kurt blushed delicately.

“I can’t help it. I love the curls,” Kurt murmured, carding his fingers through the curls over and over, reveling in their softness. Suddenly his eyes sharpened and his grip on the curls tightened as he tugged, bringing Blaine’s face closer until he crashed their lips together in a searing kiss.

Blaine wasn’t sure how long they stood there kissing. The sun had already gone down, so there was no visible marker of the passage of time in the room. All he knew was that they stood there long enough for his limbs to grow heavy with want and a strange sense of inevitability to wash over him. It seemed like his whole life, everything he had done, had led him to this moment, to Kurt and he just wanted to savor it. Blaine finally pulled back slightly, searching Kurt’s eyes for a hint of hesitation or regret and finding none. He unwound his arms from Kurt’s waist and moved towards the bedside table to turn on a lamp. He looked around the room, gaping at what the soft light had revealed. Red and yellow roses covered every surface, in vases, floating in bowls, and loose petals spread all over the bed.

“What can I say?” Kurt murmured softly into this ear. “They’re my favorite.”

“They’re beautiful. _You’re_ beautiful.” He reached up and traced a finger along Kurt’s jawline. “I think you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. Inside and out.”

Kurt suddenly pounced, pressing another passionate kiss to his lips and then suddenly Blaine felt the air-conditioned air touch his skin as his polo shirt blinked out of existence.

“Wow, what happened to the guy who was so innocent he didn’t even want to kiss?”

“He realized that there are things worth taking a risk on. That _you_ are worth taking a risk on.”

With that Kurt’s shirt also disappeared and Blaine felt his brain short circuit for a second. He tangled his fingers in Kurt’s hair and drug him down until their lips and chests met. “That shirt was one of my favorites, so I hope you remember where you put it,” he laughed, his lips still pressed against Kurt’s.

“Too. Much. Talking.”

They sunk down onto the bed and after that there were no more words to be said.

******

Kurt felt a sense of contentment like he had never known before. There, wrapped in Blaine’s arms with only the sounds of their breaths and heartbeats slowly returning to normal, he had found a peace that had eluded him his entire life.

He lay with his head and arm resting on Blaine’s chest, his fingers slowly threading through the light hair he found there. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t even realize that he had snickered out loud until Blaine spoke.

“What?” The rumble of Blaine’s chest tickled his ear and he laughed again.

“I just can’t believe I waited so long to do that. What in the world was I thinking?”

“Well, I’m going to be selfish and say I’m glad you waited.”

Kurt raised his head up so that he could look into Blaine’s eyes. “I am too. It was you that made it so special. It wouldn’t have been the same with someone else.” He laid his head back down and snuggled in closer and lay in silence for a few minutes.

“So, I know I just slept with an older man, but how much older, exactly? We’ve never really talked about it.” Though he tried to keep it light, there was a serious note to Blaine’s voice.

“So old I can't even remember. A genie’s memories eventually fade. It would be too painful if we remembered all of it — too many people lost, everyone we cared for dead. I sometimes wish we forgot quicker. If the connection is an unpleasant one it would be wonderful to just be able to forget and start over fresh the next time. And if the connection was a good one, well, sometimes it would be best to forget those too.”

“Will you tell me about your last connection? About Mr. Hummel?”

Kurt was silent for a minute, wondering if he was willing or able to talk about it. He knew he wanted to share everything with Blaine though, so he braced himself and searched for the right place to begin. “His name was Burt and he lived in this small town in Ohio. It was 1943 and his wife had recently died, so he was going through some of her boxes in the attic and found my samovar. We never found out why she had it, but he touched it and there I was. He was a simple meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, rough-around-the edges and completely wonderful. If I ever had a real father I don’t remember it and Burt…he became my father in every way that matters. He taught me that I mattered, that I was worth more than just granting wishes. He called me ‘Kiddo’ and liked to ruffle my hair as he taught me how to fix up the cars that were brought into his garage…”

Kurt trailed off, letting the happy memories wash over him before continuing, his voice filled with a new tension. “Then the Korean War started. He had fought in World War II and had been injured, so they sent him home in 1942, but the injury was long healed and he felt that he owed it to his country to fight for them again. He volunteered for the army in 1952 and…I’d never been connected to someone when they dies before, at least not so that I can remember, so I wasn’t sure what was happening at first. I felt strange, as if I was floating, but I wasn’t. Everything kept moving in and out of focus and I started to feel this pull from the samovar. Then I knew. I knew he was gone and that I was being pulled back into…nothingness.” Kurt’s voice broke and he had to stop for a minute. “I loved him so much, so I don’t want to forget him, but at the same time remembering still hurts too much.”

Blaine leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips before sinking his head in even further until he was nestled into the curve of Kurt’s neck, an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. They stayed like that for a while, relaxing into the feeling of having someone to share their pain with.

“Most connections aren’t tragic, though,” Kurt eventually continued, this time without the break in his voice. “I had this one connection, Emma was her name, whose only wish was that I clean her house. And I mean _really_ clean it. This was just when bacteria were discovered to exist and she was deathly afraid of them. She had me sterilize everything that she came in contact with. She was really sweet, but the connection didn’t last long. She was getting married and her fiancé and I, I forget his name, didn’t like each other much, so we decided to part ways.”

“Does that sort of thing happen often? Having a connection end that way, I mean.”

“It’s the most common reason why connections end, actually. A spouse or friend can't accept us or we end up causing too much havoc. We aren't the best at blending in and you’ve seen how difficult it is for us to stop using our powers. They just take their three wishes and call it a day. Hopefully, if things end well we get to say goodbye, if not, suddenly it’s 20 years later and someone else is holding the samovar and you’re not sure how you got there.”

 “I can’t even begin to imagine how that feels, but I guess I can relate to the feeling of not knowing how you ended up where you are.”

“Have you given any more thought to trying to do both? The company and the music, I mean.”

“A little. I just…the whole point of doing this was to do what the family needed, to honor my father’s memory. If I don’t put my all into it then what was the point? I just don’t want to be a disappointment.”

Kurt rose up a little and leaned over Blaine, pressing him back into the bed and staring deep into his eyes. “You will never be a disappointment.” When Blaine didn’t look convinced he leaned his face even closer. “Repeat after me: I will never be a disappointment.”

Blaine went a little cross-eyed trying to keep his eyes pinned on Kurt’s and laughed.

“Come on,” Kurt urged, moving one hand down to tickle at Blaine’s side. “I will never be a disappointment.”

“OK! OK! I will never be a disappointment. Stop! Ticklish.”

Kurt relented and dropped his hand back to the bed. He dipped his face forward again not stopping until the tip of his nose pressed lightly up against Blaine’s. “Make sure you remember that.” With their noses still touching he slightly wiggled his head back and forth for a few seconds before flopping back flat onto the bed at Blaine’s side.

“Being back at Anderson Worldwide is proving harder than I expected,” Blaine sighed once he got his laughing under control. “Don’t get me wrong, I like the business, I really do. It’s just…there’s more intrigue and deception than I was expecting. That’s yet another reason why I love having you here. I can’t tell you how much it means to know I have someone to come home to that doesn’t lie to me, keep things from me, or try and manipulate me.” Blaine missed the uneasy look on Kurt’s face as he once again nuzzled into his favorite spot in the crook of Kurt’s neck. “Hmm…sleepy. Stay please. I just want to fall asleep with you in my arms.” Kurt nodded and they turned slightly until Kurt was on his side with Blaine wrapped around him, the big spoon to Kurt’s little spoon.

******

Kurt awoke slowly the next morning, listening to the sounds of birds chirping and the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees outside the open window. During the night he and Blaine had switched positions and now he played the role of the big spoon, cradling Blaine tightly in his arms. He scooted back a bit, wanting to give Blaine some space in the quickly warming room, but Blaine sought him out, even in sleep, turning over to face Kurt and burrowed his face into the same pillow Kurt was using.

Kurt ran his eyes over Blaine’s features, cataloging each one and committing them to his deepest memory. These were moments he never wanted to forget, no matter how much time passed. Love was often depicted in musicals and movies as an overwhelming, all-consuming force that took over your mind and body, but Kurt only felt a sense of peace and belonging. The physical side had been spectacular and more than he had ever hoped for, but it was this moment, laying in the soft morning light with Blaine pressed up against his chest, their breaths intermingling, that meant the most to him, that proved he was 100% in love.

Blaine stirred, stretching and giving a quiet sigh before snuggling in closer and slowly opening his eyes. They just looked at each other for a few moments, happy grins creeping up to cover their faces. Finally, Blaine leaned over to kiss him good morning, but Kurt pulled his head away. “Ugh. Morning breath.” He placed a finger against Blaine’s lips and gave them a tap. The look of wonder on Blaine’s face told him that his little bit of morning magic had worked.

“Mmm…minty.” Blaine smacked his lips together and leaned over to complete the kiss. “Can you magically give me a shave too?”

“No, I like the…hnng. I like the scruff.” Kurt managed to get out, despite Blaine having moved onto nibbling on his ear.

“Well, I’m all minty fresh and morning scruffy, so what _are_ you going to do with me?”

Kurt rolled over and pinned Blaine to the mattress. “I’m sure I can think of something.”

******

It was at least an hour before they managed to drag themselves out of bed. Thankfully they had showered and were just finishing up getting dressed when the door burst open and Rachel came running in.

“Kurt, I got it! I got it! I’m now an official member of the chorus and the producer said there’s a possibility they’ll make me an understudy for one of the featured roles. I’ve got to move to New York within the next two weeks to report for rehearsal. I can’t believe it! I’m in a musical that might end up on Broadway. And I owe it all to you.”

Kurt squealed with excitement and jumped up from where he was sitting on the bed to hug her. As they were celebrating he waited for it to dawn on her that she had found him in Blaine’s room, after obviously having had spent the night. He glanced over to share his amusement with Blaine, but found him looking at them with a confused look on his face.

“What’s going on? What musical?”

The excited look faded a bit from Rachel’s face, replaced by a touch of guilt and apprehension, as she turned around to face her cousin. She gathered her thoughts and told him about her plans to move to New York and the audition for the workshop. Blaine just listened, shock evident on his face.

Rachel finished her story and an uneasy silence filled the room. She shifted uncomfortably; waiting for some kind of reaction, but when none was forthcoming she made a half-hearted excuse of needing to go tell Finn and Helen the news and left the room. Kurt watched her leave, sorry that she didn’t get the excited reaction from Blaine that she was hoping for.

“Did you know about this?” Blaine’s voice quietly broke the silence.

Kurt’s heart dropped a little and he felt a quick pang of guilt. “I’ve been helping her practice for a while. I-I told her about the audition and…”

“And what?”

“I might have used a little magic to get her a spot in the audition. But that was all I swear. Getting the part was all her.”

The confusion on Blaine’s face gave away to hurt. “I don’t understand. I thought we were going to always be honest with one another. Why didn’t you tell me?”

The wounded look on Blaine’s face caused Kurt a sharp jab of pain. He could deal with anger, but the knowledge that he had hurt Blaine with his actions was too much. “It wasn’t my secret to tell and Rachel wasn’t ready yet. I kept telling her to talk to you, but—“

“This is my family, Kurt.” Blaine interrupted, anger beginning to color his voice. “You can’t just mess with our lives like this. We aren’t toys for you to practice your magic on.”

Kurt felt a bristle of indignation beneath his guilt. “You didn’t seem to mind when it was you I was doing things for,” he snapped.

“Rachel’s just a kid! She can’t just go running off to New York.” Blaine wasn’t quite yelling, but it was the angriest Kurt could remember seeing him

“It’s her dream and she has the talent. You of all people should understand wanting to pursue your dreams,” Kurt raised his voice a little in frustration.

“What I understand is that we have to make sacrifices for the people we love and that right now Rachel’s place is here,” Blaine yelled, finally showing his anger fully. “You need to stay out of family business that doesn’t concern you.”

Kurt sagged at the reminder that he wasn’t part of Blaine’s family and the worry that he might never be began to worm its way into his brain. He was searching for something to say, some response that wouldn’t make the situation any worse, when Blaine headed to the door.

“I need to go. I just can’t be here right now.”

The door closed behind him and Kurt collapsed down onto the bed, wondering how such an amazing morning had suddenly gone so wrong.

******

Kurt waited for Blaine for a while, hoping he would come back so that they could talk things out, but eventually he pulled himself up and decided to take a walk to clear his thoughts. As he left through the front gate he went over the morning’s events in his mind. Rachel’s bombshell about her plans to move to New York had obviously dismayed Blaine, but he had seemed even more upset by the revelation that Kurt had kept the information from him. Part of Kurt rebelled against the idea that he had been dishonest with Blaine— he hadn’t lied, he just hadn’t volunteered information that he didn’t think was his to tell — but he could understand why Blaine felt betrayed. Just the night before Blaine had talked about how happy he was to have someone in his life that was honest with him, someone that he could trust and then not even 12 hours later he was hit with information that made that trust seem unearned.

He tried calling Blaine, but there was no answer and he didn’t even know if Blaine had his phone with him, since he had left the bedroom so abruptly that morning. Kurt knew that nothing was going to be resolved with him out roaming the streets, so he turned back to the house, determined to find Blaine and talk things through.

When he arrived he was surprised to find Quinn sitting in the living room. He greeted her politely and learned she was waiting for Helen to get home from an early meeting, so he attempted to make a graceful exit in order to go search for Blaine. He was surprised when she followed him out to the entryway.

“The board held a vote this morning on Blaine’s position in the company and he lost.” She moved to stand at the bottom of the stairs, blocking his way. “My father won’t support him if he doesn’t marry me and he won’t do that as long as you’re here. He sacrificed so much and you’ve ensured it’s all been for nothing. You’re ruining his life.”

“They voted already? No, that wasn’t supposed to…” Kurt moved to push his way past Quinn, but stopped when his toe hit a box sitting at the base of the stairs. He glanced down, already making a move to walk around it when his eyes caught something that stopped his heart. There, half buried in the box between a glass bowl and vase, was his samovar. “W-What is that?”

Quinn followed his gaze down to the box. “Just some things that the family wants to get rid of,” she said dismissively. “Blaine brought it down a while ago.”

The blood drained from Kurt’s face and the bottom of his stomach dropped away as if he had just fallen from a great height. “No, he wouldn’t. There’s got to be some mistake. I-I’ve got to talk to Blaine.”

“He isn’t here. He was really upset when I told him about the vote. When he left earlier he said he didn’t want to talk to you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m sorry, but did you really expect anything different? You’ve ruined his chance at running his family’s business; you stuck your nose in where it didn’t belong with Rachel.” She smile cruelly at Kurt’s start of surprise. “Yes, I’ve already heard about that. News travels fast in our circle. Did you really expect him to be waiting here with open arms for you? How much damage do you have to do to his life before you get that you’re no good for him or this family?”

Kurt spun on his heal and rushed out the front door, out the gate, and down the road. His heart was beating so loudly he could hardly hear and he was unable to take a normal breath, almost hyperventilating. Their fight hadn’t been that bad – just a slight hiccup— he tried to tell himself. There was no way that Blaine was breaking their connection. But what else would explain the samovar being in that box, waiting to be picked up with the other unwanted junk? He shook his head, trying to force the negative thoughts out. No, even if Blaine was going to break the connection, he wouldn’t do it that way, he just wouldn’t.

Kurt stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk, his sight blurred by the tears in his eyes. A voice in his head kept whispering that Blaine might break the connection like this if he blamed Kurt for the way the vote had turned out. Memories from the cocktail party and the charity ball, when the board members had looked at them with such judgment in their eyes, came rushing back to him. Maybe he really was the reason Blaine had lost the vote. Maybe he _was_ he ruining Blaine’s life.

Doubt started creeping in. Normally the breaking of a connection was bad enough (cold, dark, nothingness), but now that he was in love it would be much, much worse. Kurt blindly turned a corner, no longer paying attention to where he was. He took a step off the curb, not hearing the squealing of tires, and then…nothing.


	18. Chapter 18

It took Blaine only a few minutes to calm down and regret what he had said to Kurt. He almost turned back to the bedroom at that point, but wanted to give them both a little while longer to cool off. He couldn’t believe he’d handled the situation so badly. Yes, he’d been blindsided by Rachel’s news, but he still wasn’t sure why it had upset him so much. Was he really so petty that he didn’t want to see anyone else achieving their dreams just because he’d been forced to give up his? And God, was he really so blind that he hadn’t noticed his cousin pining for a life on the stage?

He made his way to the gazebo in the back and sat down, the air noticeably cooler in the shade. It was time he was honest with himself. He didn’t feel like he’d given up just his musical career to come back home. He had also sacrificed his chance for love and happiness. Doing what he needed to do in order to run the company meant pretending to be someone he wasn’t for the rest of his life, someone doomed to have only superficial relationships and never find the real love he craved. He had always had this picture of what his life would look like, a house filled with laughter and conversation all centered around the beautiful man he would marry, but now all he could see was night after night of tense silence and regret with Quinn at the other end of the table. The cost seemed all too high now.

He didn’t begrudge Rachel going after what she wanted, not really, but he did resent that she was free to live her life however, and with whomever, she wanted to. And if he was honest, he resented his mother a little bit too. A part of him had spent the last year waiting for her to realize that she was asking too much, that the company and family tradition weren’t worth making him a martyr. Of course, he knew how easy it was to ask someone to change without any thought to how it might affect them. He’d done the same thing to Kurt by asking him not to use his powers.

Oh god. Kurt. Blaine leaned his head back against the post of the gazebo and looked upwards, his eyes searching for the answer. He could still feel the twinge in his chest that had roared to life when he found out Kurt had been keeping secrets from him. Rationally he knew it wasn’t a big deal and that Kurt was right in that it was Rachel’s secret to tell, but that didn’t stop him from feeling hurt.

Memories of that morning and the previous night flashed through his mind like a corny montage video and the twinge slowly began being replaced by a pressure he didn’t think he had ever felt before, centered somewhere near his heart. Kurt was everything and they would work it out. No romance that was worth having went completely smooth, right? He was going to have to beg forgiveness for implying that Kurt wasn’t part of the family, though. Nothing could be further from the truth and he was going to make Kurt see that if it was the last thing he did.

Blaine left the gazebo and returned to the house, resolved to find Rachel and Kurt in order to begin talking things through.

He first checked the bedrooms, but there was no sign of Kurt, so he decided to scout out the rooms on the main floor. At the top of the stairs he met Kathleen, who was balancing two large boxes precariously in her arms. He took the top box from her and carried it down, placing it on the floor where she indicated before heading into the living room. Kurt wasn’t there, but Quinn was perched on a chair reading a magazine. He tried to back out of the room without her seeing him, but his luck definitely wasn’t with him that morning.

“Blaine. I heard the news about Rachel,” she smirked, setting the magazine down on the table beside her. “I’m sure you’re thrilled to have a budding thespian in the family. And all due to Kurt, I hear.”

Blaine sighed, not thrilled to be conversing with Quinn when she had her daggers drawn. “I’m sure Rachel is very grateful to Kurt for his help with the audition, but she owes her success to her own talent. We’re all very proud of her.”

Quinn narrowed her eyes, unhappy that her words weren’t having the desired effect. “Hmm...I’m sure. I also hear that you and Kurt had a little sleep over last night. How…exciting for both of you. I hope he was worth it.”

“Worth what, Quinn?” Blaine sighed, suddenly very tired.

“Well, worth losing the vote, of course. Daddy just told me. The vote was this morning and unfortunately the board doesn’t feel like you have shown the…leadership skills they’re looking for in a CEO. They’re voting on a permanent replacement right now.”

Blaine stood rooted to the ground for a minute, waiting for the pain over losing the position to hit him, but it never came. It was OK. The company was going to be fine and so was his mother. There were more important things than being the umpteenth Anderson to run the family business. “I’m glad they finally made a decision. It’s been too long since the company had a real leader and I’m sure they’ll make the best choice,” he smiled, enjoying the confusion on Quinn’s face at this reaction.

“Don’t you understand? You lost. The company is going to be run by someone else.”

“No, I got it. I just don’t care. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find Rachel and Kurt. We have some things to talk about.”

With that he left the room and a sputtering Quinn behind, feeling lighter and happier than he had in a long time. He wasn’t able to find Kurt, but he did eventually find Rachel downstairs in the theater, singing into the microphone while holding a mirror in front on her.

“I thought you already won the role,” he called softly, not wanting to startle her.

A blush bloomed on Rachel’s cheeks and she dropped the mirror down to her side. “I did, but someone in the company mentioned that I might want to work on controlling my facial expressions while I sing, so I was just…” she trailed off, a little self-conscious after Blaine’s less than enthusiastic response to her news earlier.

“Rachel, I need to apologize for this morning. Can we just pretend it never happened and start over?” She smiled and gave a quick nod before running over to Blaine and having him envelope her in his arms. “I am so proud of you. You are going to knock everyone out and I fully expect you to have taken over the lead role by the time the show opens on Broadway. There’s only one problem…”

Rachel pulled back warily. “Problem?”

“I just wonder how the rest of the cast is going to take the fact that you’ll have the biggest cheering section in the audience come opening night. It isn’t good to show everyone up too much, you know.”

Rachel laughed and threw her arms around his neck as he twirled her around the room. They collapsed onto the chairs and she filled him in on all she knew about the show and the move to New York. He offered tips on where she should live and promised to come to help her apartment hunt. They were in the middle of discussing the pros and cons of out-of-town show openings when Blaine felt a chill run through his body. He stopped mid-sentence, his heart thumping out of control in his chest. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he was absolutely certain that something was wrong with Kurt.

He rushed out of the room without a word, Rachel trailing after him, confused. As he approached the front door his shoe clipped the edge of the box he had carried down earlier. He gave it a passing glance then did a double-take. “Why is this here?” Dread filled his voice as he reached down to pick up the samovar.

Rachel glanced down at the box and gave a puzzled look to Quinn, who had joined them in the hallway. “That’s stuff we’re donating. It’s all getting replaced in the upcoming redecoration.”

 “It’s funny,” Quinn mused, “Kurt asked about that box too. What’s so interesting about it?”

“This is Kurt’s. It…it’s not ours to get rid of,” Blaine choked out.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel moved to stand next to him. “Your mom asked me to get stuff together for the donation and I guess I was a little overzealous. I’ll go put it back in his room.”

Rachel reached out for the samovar, but Blaine pulled it deeper into his arms, unable to let it go. Kurt had seen the samovar laying there in the box like unwanted junk. Oh god, what must he have thought? After the way Blaine had acted, the things that he had said, would Kurt think the worst? “Do either of you know where Kurt is right now?” Blaine knew that his panic was beginning to show through in his voice.

Quinn looked a little uneasy as she confessed that she had seen Kurt earlier and that he had left looking a little upset. Blaine set the samovar down on a table and ran off in the direction Quinn indicated. He had run several blocks and was a little out of breath when the sounds of sirens caught his attention. He immediately changed direction and headed towards the sound. At last he rounded a corner and came across the source of the noise. A police car was pulling up besides an ambulance that was already parked at the scene. A car sat stopped in the middle of the road, a man leaning against it, his head in his hands. On the ground in front of the car were two emergency technicians who were working over a body lying in the street. Blaine steps slowed; dread filling every inch of his body. He edged around the small crowd that was gathering, knowing he needed to get a better look at the person on the ground. As one of the EMTs moved he suddenly had a clear view of the scene and all of his worst fears were realized as he recognized Kurt, pale and unconscious, an oxygen mask being fitted over his face.

******

Hours later Blaine sat tensely in the hospital waiting room, waiting for someone to come and give him information on Kurt’s condition. Helen and Rachel were sitting nearby, but he paid them no attention, his mind replaying over and over the moment when he saw Kurt loaded into the ambulance and driven away. He had looked so small, so pale. He heard a commotion and looked up, hoping to see a doctor with good news, but instead just saw Finn and Santana entering the room. Rachel ran up to Finn and threw her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. Finn comforted her by rubbing her back, despite his still lingering hurt and confusion over her decision to move to New York.

Santana sat down in the chair next to Blaine and picked his hand up in hers. “Any news?”

Blaine shook his head, unable to form any words at that moment.

“I thought it best that I leave Brittany at home until we know more,” Santana paused when Blaine’s hand tightened on hers for a second. “I wasn’t sure how she would react if.”

Just then the door to the waiting room opened once more and a doctor entered. Blaine listened in a haze, only snippets of what she was saying making sense.

“…in a coma…not sure why he is unconscious…no apparent injuries…prognosis unsure at this time…”

Seeing that Blaine was unable to respond, Helen thanked the doctor for the update and asked her to keep them informed of any changes. The doctor left and Helen moved to the corner of the room to make some phone calls while Rachel and Finn left to scout out some food from the cafeteria, but Blaine remained where he was, unwilling to leave in case Kurt’s condition changed.

Time passed quickly, but simultaneously crawled along. Was this how the limbo that Kurt mentioned felt? Blaine would almost welcome the complete nothingness that Kurt had described. At least then he could stop replaying every minute of the day over and over in his head, trying to find all the moments where he could have made a different choice to avoid where they were now. He glanced out the window to look into another waiting room across the hallway and saw a family receiving what was obviously good news from a doctor. He tried to be happy for them, but turned his face towards the wall instead and thought of pale skin and fathomless blue eyes.

Finally he was allowed to go in and see Kurt for a few minutes. He declined his mother’s offer to accompany him and followed the nurse down the hallway. Kurt lay silently on the bed and Blaine could have almost convinced himself that he was just sleeping, if not for the wires connecting him to the monitoring equipment. He touched Kurt’s hand and was startled at how cold it was. He rubbed it gently with his fingers, remembering how often their hands had touched. Suddenly his numbness was gone and all of the emotions of the day washed over him. Regret, anger, fear, and despair pulsed through every vein and escaped in the form of tears running down his face. “I love you,” he whispered, saying the words he never got the chance to say earlier. “Please come back to me.”

******

Santana watched as Blaine left the room behind the nurse. She had sat beside him for hours watching him with concern as he seemed to fall into an almost catatonic state and she couldn’t take being in the stuffy room one more minute. She sprang up from her chair and stalked down the hallway, the desperate need to move filling every inch of her body. She found an exit and pushed through it, taking a deep breath to drive out the antiseptic smell of the hospital. She pulled out her phone to call Brittany, but before she could dial she heard the sounds of quiet sobbing from around the corner. She crept over, not wanting to disturb the person, but wanting to make sure they didn’t need help, and was shocked to see Quinn, sitting on a small bench next to the wall.

All of the sudden the rage that Santana had been feeling since she got the call from Rachel boiled over. “What the hell are you crying for?” she hissed at the crying woman. “You don’t even like Kurt and we all know it. You should be celebrating, right? If Kurt dies then maybe Blaine will be so damaged that he’ll agree to marry your sorry ass.”

Santana’s words hit Quinn like bullets and she curled into herself, crying even harder. “I think this is all my fault.”

“Why?” Santana asked darkly.

“I-I saw Kurt at the house. I told him it was his fault that the board members didn’t support Blaine in the vote. I told him…I told him he was ruining Blaine’s life and that Blaine didn’t want to talk to him. He was so upset and just ran out. It’s my fault he walked out in front of that car.”

Santana growled at this and had to hold herself back from physically confronting the other woman. “You bitch! What did Kurt ever do to deserve that? Do you really need power so much that you’d hurt anyone to get it?”

“That’s enough.”

Santana turned to find Puck standing behind her. She sneered at him as he moved to sit beside Quinn and put his arm around her shoulder. “It’s a good thing you’re here, Mr. T. Keep her away from me and away from Blaine. He doesn’t need her crap today.” She gave the two of them one last disgusted look before taking a last breath of fresh air and hurrying back inside.

******

A week passed and Kurt had not regained consciousness. The doctors still couldn’t find any reason for the coma and his condition was starting to deteriorate. Every morning Blaine would arrive as soon as visiting hours started and would spend the entire time by Kurt’s bedside, his hand clamped tightly around Kurt’s, blaming himself. Each day Kurt became a little thinner, a little paler, until this skin was so translucent it seemed paper thin.

In the early afternoon of the eight day, Blaine left Kurt’s room so that the doctors could do another round of tests. He got back to the waiting room just in time to hear Rachel make a comment to Finn about needing to pack for New York. “What? You’re still going?”

“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I—“

“Kurt’s lying there dying…” Blaine’s voice cracked and he paused to gather himself. “He’s in the hospital and you’re just going to flit off to New York? What kind of friend are you?” Blaine’s voice rose with each word until he was shouting at the top of his lungs. “He would never leave you if the situations were reversed. How can you abandon —“

“Blaine, sit down and shut up.”

Blaine snapped his mouth shut at Finn’s words, astonished at hearing the normally mild mannered man raise his voice. He sat down on the chair behind him, his anger deflating a bit.

“Rachel cares for Kurt. You know she does, but she has her own life and she can’t put it on hold forever. This show could be her once-in-a-lifetime shot and she’s got to take it.” Finn gathered Rachel’s hands in his and pulled her close. “Kurt wouldn’t want her to give this up. You know he wouldn’t. So, you’re not going to stand in her way or make her feel bad about this and neither am I. She isn’t abandoning us. I’m sure she’ll come back if something…major…happens.”

Helen came up behind Blaine and laid her hands on his shoulders, rubbing lightly at the tension she found there. “Finn’s right. There’s nothing Rachel can do here and her new life is waiting for her in New York. She isn’t far away and the jet can bring her back at a moment’s notice.” The flexing of Blaine’s jaw showed he was still unconvinced. “Come on now, don’t repeat my mistakes. Don’t ask her to give up something that means so much to her, no matter what it might mean to you,” she said, regret coloring every word. Blaine finally nodded, if a bit ungraciously.

The rest of the week was filled with visitors dropping in to check on Kurt. Several people from the modeling agency stopped by, including Sue, who was joined by a solidly built man named Rod. Artie came by several times; always nodding sadly when he heard there was no news to report. Kathleen, Sam, and all of the other Anderson employees came to visit and it was obvious they weren’t doing it just to be polite; they really cared about Kurt. Blaine lost track of the people who came and while he appreciated that they all cared enough to take the time he couldn’t help but resent each time he had to recount Kurt’s condition for them, each moment he was away from Kurt’s side.

Two weeks after the accident there was still no change and Blaine could tell that the doctors had given up hope, even if no one came out and said it. He was sitting by Kurt’s bedside one morning when he felt a touch on his shoulder. He looked up to find Brittany beside him. Santana had told him she was finally going to bring Brittany for a visit, her voice breaking as she explained that it might be Brittany’s last chance to see her old friend.

“Lord Tubbington is upset that Kurt hasn’t come over to play with him in a while. He just sits around depressed all day watching ‘Judge Judy’, which doesn’t make any sense because he knows nothing about the American legal system, being British and all.” She looked down at Kurt lying so still in the bed. “He looks like a paper doll I made out of vellum once. If you held him up to the light I bet you could see right through him.” Blaine made a wounded sound and she reached out, her soft hand grazing his cheek. “He isn’t injured, you know. His heart is broken and genies can’t live without their hearts. You need to fix it for him.”

She left the room as silently as she had entered it and Blaine just stared as the door closed behind her, trying to make sense of what she had said. He thought about her last words, remembering what Kurt had once said about the dangers of genies falling in love. He pulled the chair up as close as possible to the bed and reached out to grab Kurt’s hand. He grasped it tightly and bent over, his lips passing over Kurt’s slim fingers. “Kurt, please come back. Please. I-I love you. I love you so much and I don’t know what I’ll do if you...” Blaine started to cry, the tears running unchecked down his face. “Just open your eyes, OK? I know you were upset by our argument and the samovar, but it was nothing, I swear. Please come back and we’ll work it all out.” There was no response; no clichéd slight movement of the fingers at his pronouncement like there was in the movies.

Blaine stayed at Kurt’s bedside for a few more hours, continuing to murmur in Kurt’s ear about how much he loved him, about the things they would do, the places they would go, if only Kurt would open his eyes. Finally a nurse came in and told him that visiting hours were over. As he got up to leave he could see the pity in her eyes and a small part of him gave up and acknowledged that there was nothing to be done, that Kurt wasn’t coming back.

He walked slowly back to the waiting room, each step harder than the last, sure he would collapse before he got to the seats. He rounded the corner and saw Rachel, who was leaving the next morning for New York, holding his mother’s hand.

“I wish there was something I could do,” she sighed, pulling at her skirt. “He’s taking it so hard, I just—“

“Wishing doesn’t help,” Blaine interrupted bitterly. “If wishes helped I would…” He stopped suddenly and his eyes bounced all over the room as a thought occurred to him. A thought that swiftly became a plan. He turned abruptly and ran back to Kurt’s room. He dropped down into the chair and leaned close to Kurt’s ear. “Kurt, I know you can hear me. I know you’re still in there and I want you to listen to me closely. You still owe me two wishes and you can’t leave without granting them to me. They’re part of our contract and you can’t get out of that.” He glanced down at Kurt and saw that there was still no reaction. He took a deep breath and continued on. “I have two wishes left and I’m going to use one of them right now. I wish for you, Kurt Hummel, to wake up right now and stay by my side for the rest of my life, happily ever after. My wish is that you don’t leave me. You have to grant my wish, Kurt. You have to. Please don’t say goodbye.”

Blaine dropped his head down onto the bed, letting the tears flow again and grasping Kurt’s hand tighter. He was about to start a new round a pleading when a slight noise caught his attention. He looked up and saw Kurt’s lips part, the dry skin pulling a bit as they moved to form words.

“Your wish is granted.”

The sound was weak, but joy exploded in Blaine’s chest and he gasped for air as he reached out to run his fingers through Kurt’s hair. "Kurt, I love you so much. We’ll get through anything as long as we’re together. You are the love of my life and I’m scared to death to lose you. Please don’t ever leave me.”

Kurt smiled a bit, his words a little stronger this time. "I promise you aren't going to lose me. I’m never saying goodbye to you."


	19. Chapter 19

**One year later**

Quiet murmuring filled the ballroom of the elegant downtown hotel. The marriage ceremony was over and now everyone was gathered, waiting for the wedding party to arrive so that the reception could begin. Blaine smiled down at the tiny bride and groom atop the elaborate wedding cake. He was a sucker for weddings and this one had been a long time coming.

People milled around, partaking in the appetizers and the full bar while they waited for the bride and groom to appear. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kurt appear, returning from making some last minute repairs to the bride’s gown to fix damage that had been done during the ceremony, so that the dress would be perfect for the photos. The sight of him made Blaine’s heart beat faster and the now familiar feelings of love, contentment, and ‘pin him up against a wall’ lust pulsed through his veins.

Kurt made a quick detour to the buffet and added a few bite-sized cheesecakes to a small plate before continuing over to Blaine. “Mission accomplished,” he declared before popping the first cheesecake into this mouth.

The sound of enjoyment that Kurt made as he ate caused every hair on Blaine’s arms to stand up. He glanced around to make sure that no one was standing in their immediately vicinity before leaning close, his lips right against Kurt’s ear. “If you don’t stop making noises like that we won’t make it to the end of the reception. I’ll have to drag you out of here to have my wicked way with you.”

Red flares bloomed on Kurt’s cheeks and he shot Blaine a flirtatious glance. “Promises, promises,” he cooed before finishing off the next cake and making loud cartoony ‘yummy’ noises.

Blaine laughed so hard he actually snorted. “You know if you’re going to be part of the Anderson family you really need to become more blasé and jaded. You’re giving us a bad name with all of your obvious enjoyment and enthusiasm.”

Kurt looked down at the engagement ring on his finger, still not used to seeing it there, even after two months. “Please, you are the least stuffy family I know. I think I’m actually the shrinking violet here. At least I’m not known to break out into song at a moment’s notice like you and Rachel.”

“Hey, that’s only happened a few times and only when the party was really dull. We had to do something to liven things up or people were going to leave.”

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that.”

Blaine basked in the warmth of Kurt’s smile. He couldn’t believe how far they’d come and knew that he would never take another moment for granted again. Kurt had recovered quickly after waking up from his coma, to the astonishment of all his doctors. He had lost most of his powers, something he had anticipated would happen when he fell in love, though he could still produce the odd firework from time to time. The good part of Kurt losing his powers was discovering that he was now aging normally. Kurt hadn’t been happy to discover his first grey hair until he realized what it meant. The knowledge that they would be able to grow old together removed the last reservations either of them had about making a life together. Kurt had spent the last year starting his own fashion line and it was proving more successful than either one of them ever hoped.

Blaine had decided that he didn’t want to try and fight the board’s decision. He had kept his position at the company and who knew, maybe when he was older and had more experience he might find himself in charge, but until then he was content. Without the pressure of trying to get ahead at the company he had taken up music again and had a regular gig at a local music club. All of that and Kurt to come home to at night, well, it was more than he could have ever hoped for.

Kurt slipped his arm through Blaine’s and cuddled against him, laying his head on Blaine’s shoulder and Blaine was just about to suggest they step outside for a moment when they were interrupted.

“God, don’t the two of you get enough action at home? Or do you have some kind of kink, where you can only be satisfied by doin’ it in public? Cause if that’s the case then I approve.”

Blaine gave a heavy sigh. “Santana, lovely to see you, as always.”

Kurt wasn’t quite as polite. “I don’t think you’re in much of a position to talk after that video Brittany sent us last week,” he sniped. “By the way, I have to log an objection to use of silk charmeuse in that way. It ruins the shape of the fabric. Not to mention it’s unsanitary.”

“Well, well, well. Score one for the ex-genie in the custom tux.” Santana grimaced a bit and leaned in towards the woman beside her. “Britt, that reminds me. We need to have a little talk about our private home movies, stress on the _private_.”

“Sorry, you just looked really beautiful in that one and I just wanted everyone to see. At least it wasn’t the one with the saw horses. I remembered that you especially said not to tell anyone about that one.”

Kurt’s eyes grew wide as he silently mouthed the word “saw horses?” and Santana groaned, covering her face with both hands. Blaine just laughed, delighted more and more each day that Brittany had come into Santana’s life. Like Kurt, Brittany had lost most of her powers over the last year as her relationship with Santana had developed into love. She had found her calling as a volunteer for a local animal shelter, where she was proving to be a revelation at rehabilitating problem animals. Articles had been written about her uncanny ability to understand what an animal needed and she was being courted by publishers to write a book.  

Although she would never admit it, Santana had been inspired by seeing her friends find work that was meaningful to them, so she had finally given up the idea of returning to law school and had taken a management role at the modeling agency, which she had evidently always secretly wanted, even covering for Sue when she left on an extended honeymoon. She kept joking that she was going to have business cards printed up with the title of ‘HBIC’, but Blaine didn’t think she was joking.

He couldn’t believe how much everyone’s lives had changed and almost all of it could be tied back to Kurt. He caught a glimpse of Rachel and Finn, who were analyzing the chairs being used at the reception with an intensity that was slightly worrying. Rachel’s musical was set to open on Broadway early the next year and she had in fact been promoted to understudying for a featured role. She had blossomed in New York, just as driven and intense as ever, but now tempered with a confidence that made her less confrontational. Finn had spent the year travelling back and forth to New York and seemed ready to make the move permanent.

A loud laugh pulled Blaine’s attention to a group of women gathered at one of the tables. His mother was laughingly recounting some story that had them all enthralled. The sad, brittle woman of the past was no longer. She had shaken off the ghosts of her past friendships and created a new group of confidants for herself, filled with artists and philanthropists. She had proven to be Rachel’s number one cheerleader during her efforts in New York, flying out to comfort her when she was having a particularly hard time and being front row center for many of the workshop performances. She had finally realized that Blaine and Rachel needed to live their own lives and pursue they own passions and not live for the family. She had even encouraged Blaine to leave Anderson World Wide and return to music full time, but he was happy where he was at the moment.

Suddenly the wide double doors opened and Quinn and Puck appeared, dressed in all of their wedding finery. The guests applauded loudly and Quinn blushed as Puck kissed her hand. The last year had been an eventful one for the pair. After her breakdown during Kurt’s hospitalization, Quinn had examined her life and not liked what she had seen. Despite her parent’s disapproval she had quit her job at Anderson Worldwide and started an agency that offered counseling and adoption services to pregnant teens. She and Puck had put aside whatever their past differences were and surprised everyone when they began dating. Quinn had worked hard at repairing her relationship with Blaine and forging a new one with Kurt and though things were still not perfect they were getting better every day.

Dinner passed quickly, with humorous toasts from friends and both Quinn and Puck’s mothers (Quinn’s father had chosen not to attend). Finally, everyone was ushered into a second room so that the dancing could begin. After the bride and groom had their first dance Blaine coaxed Kurt out onto the floor and pulled him into his arms.

“You know, I was thinking about our costumes for the upcoming costume party,” Blaine said.

Kurt arched a brow and dipped Blaine low to the ground before responding suspiciously. “Yes?”

Blaine reached in for a quick peck before twirling Kurt out and back. “Have you given any more thought to that ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ outfit?”


End file.
